Calories in safeway large chocolate chip cookie

Option A: Every single full hour you spent gaming (pauses during breaks and continues when you start again) will earn you $20, tax-free. A game must be something generally considered to be a game that is played electronically on some sort of device (Minecraft, Cookie Clicker, Skyrim, Zelda, etc).
Option B: For every active calorie burnt (active calories being calories above your baseline calorie consumption of being alive), you will gain a quarter.
Once you choose your option, you cannot switch, ever. So, which one are you choosing? Here is some info to help you decide:
• A try-hard gamer who plays 10 hours a day would make $200 a day, or about $70,000 a year. • A moderately active person might burn ~600 calories daily, coming out to $150 a day ($57,000 a year).
The first option is a much easier, more passive way to make large sums of money, but the second will encourage you to get much healthier and be much more active than you’d otherwise be.
Also, the first option is limited by the amount of hours you can reasonably spend gaming in a day, while the second option is much more open-ended (serious athletes may burn over 1,000 calories daily, coming out at $250, significantly more than 10 hours of gaming).

Sunday is Mother's Day, people. Cook something nice for your mom if you can. All these stores have flowers, too.
Safeway: 4x point items denoted with asterisk (*)
Tri-Tip untrimmed twin pack $3.97/lb digital coupon
Hass avocados $0.97/ea digital coupon limit 4
Pork Loin Chops bone-in $2.47/lb
Shrimp raw 21-25ct $3.97/lb in a 2lb bag digital coupon limit 4
Tillamook shredded, sliced, cracker cuts, or cream cheese 6.5-8oz$2.47/ea digital coupon
Lucerne creamer 32oz or Simply Orange OJ 52oz $2.97/ea digital coupon limit 4
Pepperidge Farms assorted cookies 5-8.6oz $2.47/ea digital coupon limit 4
Strawberries 1lb, Blueberries 6oz buy 1 get 1
Corn 4 for $1
*Kraft Mac n Cheese 4 for $5
Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, Funyuns mix n match buy 2 get 2
Coca-Cola 12pk cans, Dasani water 24pk, Smartwater 8pk, Topo Chico Sabores 8pk buy 2 get 2
Stouffer's or Lean Cuisine frozen dinners, Hot Pockets, Croissant Pockets $2.49/ea when you buy 4
Rocky Free Range Whole Chicken $1.79/lb
Johnsonville ground sausage 16oz or breakfast sausage 12oz $3.99/ea
Cantaloupe 2 for $6 digital coupon
Bugles, Chex Mix, or Gardetto's 7.5-8.75oz $1.99/ea digital coupon
Chobani greek yogurt $0.89/ea digital coupon limit 12
Chobani Flip or Creations greek yogurt $0.97/ea
Lucerne butter 16oz $3.99/ea digital coupon
Knorr rice or pasta sides 4.3-5.7 $0.99/ea digital coupon
Signature select apple juice 64oz $1.99/ea digital coupon
*Oscar Mayer deli fresh or carving board lunch meat 7-9oz $3.99/ea digital coupon
Signature select baked entree family size 24-28oz $2 off digital coupon
*Tide detergent 132-146oz $15.99/ea digital coupon limit 1
*El Monterey burritos or chimichangas family size 30-32oz $3.99 digital coupon
*Frito-Lay variety pack 28ct assorted chips $12.97/ea digital coupon limit 2
*Purex detergent 128-150oz $7.97/ea digital coupon
Mangoes 10 for $10
Fresh Express salad blends 5-11oz 3 for $10
Cucumbers or Green Peppers 10 for $10
Deli Footlong sandwich $5 Friday only
Signature Select Classic salad 32-48oz $5 Friday only
80-20 Ground Beef 2lbs for $5 Friday only
Deli Ham or American Cheese $5/lb Friday only
Fuji Apples 5 for $5
Lucky:
FREEBIE FRIDAY Oikos Remix yogurt 4.5oz digital coupon limit 1
Foster Farms Chicken dark meat maxx pack buy 1 get 1
Beef Ribeye $7.97/lb limit 2
Strawberries 1lb, Blackberries or Blueberries 6oz $1.99/ea
Pineapples, Cantaloupe, or mini Watermelons buy 1 get 1
Roma Tomatoes or white onions $0.99/lb Coca Cola or 7UP products mix n match buy 2 get 2
Lay's assorted or Sun Chips $1.99/ea when you buy 4
Quaker cereal $1.99/ea when you buy 2
Hunt's Tomato sauce 8oz 10 for $10
Cheetos Mac n Cheese assorted 10 for $10
Oreos family size $2.99 limit 1 <-- no coupon so multiple transactions ok
Simply Lemonade or Fruit Punch 52oz 2 for $5
Cherries $3.99/lb Fri Sat Sun
Asparagus tray pack $1.99/lb F S S
Farmer John smoked bacon 12oz $3.99 F S S limit 2
Sunnyside Farms Ice Cream 48oz $2.99/ea F S S
Calidad Tortilla Chips 10-11oz 2 for $3 F S S
Old El Paso taco shells 10-12ct $1.99
Sunnyside farms butter 1lb $4.99 digital coupon limit 2
Pepsi 24pk cans, Rockstar 10pk cans, Gatorade water 6pk 1 liter $9.99 digital coupon
Bolthouse Farms OJ 52oz $5 digital coupon
Frito-Lay Multi pack chips 42oz $19.99 digital coupon
Tide Liquid Detergent 105oz $12.99 digital coupon
Farmer John Pork sausage links 8oz $2 limit 4
Fresh live oysters $0.99/ea <--- is that a good price? I've never cooked oysters
Taki's snacks 9.9oz or 7UP 2 liters mix n match buy 2 get 2
Shasta sodas 12pk cans buy 2 get 1
Sunny Select Apple Juice 64oz 2 for $7
Pringles Party size chips $2.99
Rao's Pasta Sauce buy 1 jar get 1 Ra's Pasta 1lb free
Nob Hill:
Asparagus $2.97/lb
Raley's water 24pk bottles $2.47 digital coupon limit 4
Ritz Crackers 8.8-13.7oz $2.47/ea digital coupon limit 4
Fritos or Cheetos $2.77/ea digital coupon limit 4
Ghirardelli Cookie Mix 16.75oz or Brownie mix 18-20oz $2.77/ea digital coupon limit 4
Magnum ice cream bars or Talenti Gelato $2.97 digital coupon limit 4
Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies $2.97 digital coupon limit 4
General Mills large size cereals 12-18.2oz $3.47 digital coupon limit 4
Cascade ActionPacs 11-14ct or Dawn Dish Soap 32.7-38oz $4.97 digital coupon limit 4
Strawberries 2lb or blueberries 18oz $3.97 digital coupon limit 4
Salmon Whole Fillet $6.97/lb digital coupon limit 4
Raley's Large Eggs AA $2.97/ea digital coupon limit 4
Farmer John's Sausage Links 8oz $1.47 digital coupon limit 4
Tomatoes on the vine or Broccoli crowns 3lbs for $5 Monday only
Purple Artichokes 2 for $6
Raley's smoked platter Bacon $5/lb Monday only limit 6lbs
Galbani Mozzarella Cheese 16oz or Gallo Italian Dry Salame or Pepperoni 12-15oz $5/ea Monday only limit 4
Raley's ground pork sausage 16oz $4.99/ea
Nob Hill:
Strawberries 1lb 2 for $4
Pears red or bosc $0.99/lb
Vidalia onions $0.99/lb
Yellow bell peppers $1.49/lb
Artichokes 2 for $5
Simply Orange OJ 2 for $7
Yoplait Yogurt variety packs 8 6oz $4.49/ea
La Croix sparkling water 8pk 12oz cans $2.99/ea limit 4
Family Size Oreos or Ritz assorted 2 for $7
Dino Nuggets 64-72oz $9.99 digital coupon limit 4
Powerade 28oz $0.89/ea digital coupon limit 6
Tide Liquid detergent 84-92oz or Tide Pods 25-42ct $9.99/ea digital coupon limit 1
Foster Farms chicken drumsticks $1.49/lb
Squirt, Canada Dry, 7UP, or A&W 12pk cans 12oz $5.99/ea when you buy 3
First Street bottled water 35pk 16.9oz $3.99/ea when you buy 3
Dole Fruit Juice 59oz $2.99/ea
Honey Bunches of Oats 48oz $7.89/ea
Chex Mix club size 40oz $8.99/ea
Guerrero Flour Tortillas 10ct $1.99/ea digital coupon limit 4
El Super:
Mangoes 2 for $0.99
Whole Chicken Breast bone-in $1.99
Oranges 2lbs for $0.99
Potatoes 10lb bag $1.99/ea
Rice long grain 4lbs $3.29/ea
Pure Cane Sugar 4lbs $3.49/ea
Watermelon 3lbs for $0.99 Weds Sat Sun only
Small Hass Avocados 3 for $0.99 Weds only
Pineapples 2lbs for $0.99 Weds only
Bananas 2lbs for $0.99 Weds only
Roma Tomatoes $0.69/lb Weds only
Mexican Squash 2lbs for $0.99 Weds only
Green Beans $0.99/lb Weds only
Papayas $0.79/lb Weds only
Strawberries 16oz or Blueberries 6oz 2 for $3 Weds only
Coca Cola or Sprite 18pk cans 12oz $9.49/ea when you buy 2
Gatorade 12pk 12oz bottles $7.49/ea when you buy 2
Fresh Squeezed OJ 16oz $3.99, 32oz $7.49, 64oz $10.99 Sat Sun only
Pasta La Moderna 7oz 3 for $0.99
Essential Everyday canned corn 15.25oz $0.9/ea
Foster Farms whole chicken $1.79/lb
Chicken drumsticks $0.99/lb
Pork Neck Bones or Trotters $1.99/lb Thurs only
Cucumbers 3 for $0.99
Corn 2 for $0.99
White onions 2lbs for $0.99
Cantaloupe or Honeydew melons 2lbs for $0.99
Cilantro 3 for $0.99
Jicama 2lbs for $0.99
Green cabbage 2lbs for $0.99
Celery 2 for $0.99
Carrots $0.69/lb
Lemons $0.69/lb
Fuji or Red Delicious apples $0.79/lb
Roma Tomatoes or Persian Cucumbers $0.77/lb
Tomatillos $0.89/lb
Mushrooms 8oz $1.99
Limes $0.99/lb
La Fama AP Flour 5lbs 2 for $5

thanks in advance :)

Hole: 7 Par 4
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392 Yards @ 30 feet down
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Tee:
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With this hole it runs West to East with your fist shot over troubled waters. In the distance you’ll see a lighthouse with a quaint house off to the Northeast side. The elevated tee gives you a nice lay of the land. Even though the FW start about 200 yards from the pin, you may find it fairly easy to hit the FW. We have six tightly packed bunkers starting somewhere in the range of 150 yards to the pin on the East side of the FW.
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Fairway (FW):
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The LZ here is either just beyond the first set of double bunkers that are side by side in this six pack or well beyond the last set of double bunkers, mind the wind for your first shot. Stray to far to the north and you’ll be bouncing off to the boat races. Or if you’re as lucky as I I’ll hit a rock and bounce backwards 30 yards. At least it wasn’t the second water hazard.
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Green:
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This green looks like the profile of a pear with a bite taken out of it. To the east side you have a bite just above were the pear starts to get fat at the bottom. Right above that you’ll have some red moving you back west on to the green while the west side of the pear, you’ll have a nice shading of red starting roughly at the top and moving all the way to the base about 3-4 square width, running you off the pear.
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Editing notes
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Would have been nice to see a fishing boat or some kind of vessel in the small bay area near this hole.
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Hole: 8 Par 4
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505 Yards @ 21 feet up
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Tee:
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Oh snap that chocolate chip cookie is kicking in, well the FW runs East to West with the FW starting about 190 yards from the tee. The elevated tee means you’ll be shooting down on to the FW which will very from 20’ to 15’ down. There are several bunkers to the north and south side of the FW. The first bunker sits about 230 yards from the green tee and backs up the second bunker on the south side while the first of 3 bunkers on the North side of the FW starts roughly about 250 yards.
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Fairway (FW):
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You may want to stick to the west side of the FW, it’s a little flatter than the east side where it’s a bit of a hill and slants towards the west side. This will give you a bit more of an even shot instead of trying to contend with a hill. To the west you’ll see the Initials of the course “JJ” skill fully done in stone. The next set of 3 bunkers on the east side will start about 50 yards from the pin. And the other set of 2 bunkers to the west will move up to the green.
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Green:
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This spot runs east to west on a really good slope, so your shot better be accurate if you’re coming from the east, It runs down in tiers fairly smoothly. It looks like someone giving a thumbs up with the left hand and at the finger nail tip is a bit red running west. Skip this sentence if you don’t care for the description…(if you take your left hand and give a thumbs up, and then turn your hand so your thumb stays parallel to your body turn your palm into facing you, that will give you a good idea what the green looks like.) …ooo look a shinney penny…
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Editing notes
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A fence was more at a right angle instead of following right along with the walking path, like sheesh there seems to be nothing horribly aesthetically unpleasing about this course.
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Hole: 9 Par 4
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459 Yards @ 21 feet down
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Tee:
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I guess you could say we are really starting on the back 9 now, this hole runs south to north, and just to the west we have the grounds crew, they make this sh!t looks easy…. Kudos is well deserved. Looking down this narrow FW it’s maybe 30- 40 yards wide, your LZ (landing zone…noob) is rather clear for almost 300 yards and that’s when you encounter your first bunker on the east side jettisoning out into the FW about 10 yards into the middle.
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Fairway (FW):
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Unless you’re driving the 350+ in your sleep, stick to the middle of the FW to keep your eye on the prize. Those that can make it over that 325 easily stay closer to the south side of the FW it will provide a more strait on approach to the pin. The first bunker is a rather doosie if you get stuck there. Your second shot should easily put you on the green. Just beware of the the jet engines from the private air strip the the golf club has, those high rollers. As I understand with rulings the force from the jets do not count against play. So timing can be crucial while playing up on to the green.
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Green:
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The elevated green is similar to a rectangle block with a lump in it. It is spotted with red almost like a leopard. The green slope goes from east to west at a decent slope. Depending on where your pin lies you may want to stick to the west side of the green more towards the front.
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Editing notes
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I like the use of the building as blocks for and a concrete barrier for the houses on top. Unfortunately, you can see a portion of the window peeking from the ground, it is blocked by a tree a little bit, I bet putting one more rock in at that spot would have covered it. The hedge on top of the concrete blocks is a shy outside the concrete. I think that would have looked cool, by having a hedge barely sticking out from the block wall all along the backside with the stairs. Details like putting in a marina and airport really have sold the idea of being in Jamaica.
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Hole: 10 Par 5
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540 Yards @ 20 feet Down
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Tee:
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With the expanse of the blue skies and the birds chirping, we get to stare down a fairly strait forward hole it runs North to South with the FW starting roughly 170 yards from the tee. We notice that the FW does narrow roughly 260 yards from the pin and stays like this for about 20 yards or so.
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Fairway (FW):
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What pinches the FW would be the four bunkers to the West side of the FW and the 2 to the East. We are playing just West of the Grounds keepers buildings while the back side of the grounds keepers buildings is hole 9. Your second shot onto the green will be uphill, just hope you have enough club to do it, while me having just the standard bag, no up graded clubs will have a difficult time due to the crapy drive I have. So good luck to you, eh who am I kidding you most likely have the better up grades and shoot a -7 on a bad day…Anyway we have another pair of bunkers to the East side nothing in the FW they are about 90 yards from the pin. Just in case you forgot I’m shooting for Pin 3, the distances change for those playing any other pin or tee location…Like I really need to say that. _____________________________________________________________________
Green:
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For those who don’t have the 2 water hazards and a bad lie in the rough sitting directly by a rock blocking any path over…good for you. The shape of this one looks a bit like a cone going from the small end pointing North to the wide fat end pointing South. We do have several red squares starting on the East side of the cone about mid-way up going around to the south side turning in just a touch all of this is going to push you west towards the center of the green. We do have a couple lines scurrying by the hole. If you have the right roll I could see a possible nice chip in from the north on to the tip of the green to allow enough of a roll to the hole, but what do I know, you’ll just have to play and find out for your self.
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Editing notes
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The FW edge came up a little bit much to the north side of the FW. It could have followed the length of the FW backed off maybe a couple yards or two and increased the red mulch area. This would have made the FW much more narrow of course. It’s a difficult thing to balance, I think it started by the four bunkers on the north side, or at least this is the point where I would have started the correction. The light rough path-way leading from the tee box should probably connect with the FW, esthetically it looks great the way it is. For practicality the golfer would have to walk through deep rough before getting on to the FW.
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Hole: 11 Par 4
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317 Yards @ 24 feet down
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Tee: Not like I really have to say this, but this is a really short par 4 running East to West, if you can watch your club here as you’ll be shooting DOWN, sorry mostly these are for me as I tend to forget about which club I should be using and when. If you decide to club up good luck you will be in the water or back behind a tree. For those that can shoot 300+ easily you have been warned no need for that over powered stuff here.
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Fairway (FW):
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Not much of a FW to work with but it’s not like you really need it, and if you do beware of the three bunkers that are guarding the green to the front and one in the back ready to rob you of a possible easy eagle.
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Green:
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This one is slightly raised up from the FW it reminds me of a bulbous nose with the left nostril being rather elongated up to the bridge on one side. The bridge of the nose is roughly 20 feet wide and sits at the west side of the hole. The bridge of the nose running about 30 feet and at least half of that is red forcing you off one way or the other.
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Editing notes
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I appreciate it when I see something I haven’t seen in a course before, and this time up on hole 12, I really like the Idea of the wall with the number sign embedded in it, to create a more decorative sign. And like the gentleman I am I fully admit when I will use someone else’s idea, and this is one of those times, I will be using it when I publish Zen City and Zen Hills. Great view of the JJ sign on the hill with the sun coming in from the behind creating this silhouette sign, the real downfall to this otherwise beautiful view is that the JJ is backwards
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Thank you for reading, these are just one man’s opinion, play and edit as you wish, not how someone else tells you to.
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Please Let me, know what you think of my courses. All feedback is welcome.
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PGA 2k23
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Zen City (Par 54) & Zen Hills ( Par ?) 2 courses on one map coming soon in July
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Cherry Blossom
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Waterfall Castle
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Put Put Asteroid
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The Temple (Different from 2k21) More Challenging greens default is no rain
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The Temple2: Blue Sky (Different form 2k21)
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PGA 2k21
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La Cascade Castille
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Put Put Asteroid
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The Temple
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The Temple2

I like to review courses with Defaults of the designer.
So here we go on to the review.
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Course Name: Jewel of Jamaica
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Course Designer: CJWez
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Course length: 6,841 – 7489 Yards
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Par for the course: 72
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Tee Locations: 4 (I’ll be playing the green Tee)
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Pin Locations 4 (I’ll be playing Pin 3)
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Fairways: Firm
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Greens: Firm
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Greens Speed (7.4) : Med. Fast
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Weather: Overcast
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Time of Day: Dawn
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Hole: 1 Par 4
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411 Yards @ 67 feet down
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Tee:
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I had a nice fight in it was such a gracious thing, they handed me two joints, but the jokes on them I already had two joints. And that was before I smoked two joints…lol, sorry songs that get stuck in your head. Right off the bat it’s a beautiful course coming in I saw several small islands. But I’m not entirely sure, I was a bit buzzed for travels. These raise Tees surrounded by rock give a nice view of the ocean to the east while this hole runs North to South and takes a slight turn south-east. From tee to pin this hole is shaped in a letter “J” with a cross at the top of it. Well, I spotted two bunkers off to the west side of the turn in the FW running diagonal now in a east to west motion. They are happily chillin roughly 240 yards out going for another 20 yards or so to meet with the side rough. This hole comfortably runs right around the small cove and a runway for a peninsula behind you. And for those who can drive 400 yards, go for that green and skip the FW. The wind has been bustling at a nice clip from 10 mph-15mph, sorry for those that prefer metric.
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Fairway (FW):
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The start of the FW here is almost 190 yards out with a slight raise to the east but not to worry about that you’re not shooting less than 200 and if you are maybe try laying off the complimentary hits at the door. Right where these happy deep bunkers are before the hole turns northeast the FW narrows to about 10 yards to the east and an outcrop to the west that’s a dead end. The FW then begins to widen just a bit after the happy lil bunkers. Beware of the rocky shoreline, it can be a blessing or an absolute water curse. I was just lucky with my shot I sliced it, and it went a bit too far off and bounced back to the FW. Dang lucky! It’s a split FW about 90/10 with a foot bridge connecting to the green. Your LZ (Landing Zone) is wavy, or am I tripping? Nah, it’s the FW, SE (Southeast) side dips down towards the rocks and gets just a lil bit higher to the west side, and in the middle it’s a bit bulbous so a lot is going on at the end of the FW. The FW stops about 320 yards, and the next LZ is across a bit of water. If you can routinely shoot 300+ just beware of the ending you have one rude looking bunker nestled down next to the cart path. Also pay attention to your elevation and remember the higher you are the longer the ball travels, don’t let the green get to your head.
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Green:
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Sweet we still have some FW by the green cause I’ll need it. Just about to cross over this bridge the sun is just coming up over the horizon. It’s a large green, well pin 3 is all the way in the back, if you want to start counting the green from the west side coming in from the FW. A large bunker to the north of the green sits comfortably observing the flowers amongst the rocks. While the west side of the green is draped it’s red on the fringe running around to the south for about 20 yards. This green is rather deceptive, with some more FW for those that can’t control their distance (i.e. ME!) to the far east side of the green however it dips down to even out before more lovely flowers rocks butting up to the ocean. Long putters rejoice for this hole, it has moderate amount of movement on the green here.
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Editing notes
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The use of one type of rock doesn’t always look good or placement of it looks a bit funky. However, in this case it has been done beautifully, meshing the rocks together like that takes some time and effort. It really works in this case. The addition of a lighthouse and boats on the water lends itself to being more authentic. The use of the flowers around the outside closest to the water look great I like the mix of grass and flowers. Unfortunately while sinking the flowers not all made it under ground, this could have been eliminated by raising the ground up by an extra foot. I noticed the boats actually using shipping lanes, opposed to people just willy nilly placing boats around.
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Hole: 2 Par 3
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122 Yards @ 12 feet down
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Tee:
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We have elevated tees, on this par 3 we’ll be shooting over a little bit of water with the ocean on the East side still and the rocky shoreline continues, there is a line of site shot at the pin, only contention is the wind this should be an easy shot. Just remember you’re high and higher than the green your ball will travel farther than you might think, especially if you have the wind to your back. Also be careful not to underestimate the distance too. Or you may end up on the little bit sand and forgetting where you are and what you are doing. The spliff is starting to kick in.
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Fairway (FW):
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H2O, that’s your FW, unless you brought your scuba gear and intend on not taking that water hazard and shoot with Sponge Bob.
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Green:
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It’s a nice size green with a decent slant running east to west. Its nice size red that bank on the east side going for about 2-3 squares.
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Editing notes
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My suggestion about the flowers and side rough though, while on the outsides of the course having random and mixed foliage is good makes for a natural look, but when it comes to the green, to keep up with the appearance of a well-groomed course, if you are mixing flowers try to have a pattern or at least some separation between the types. This will help keep the “well taken care of” course look and feel.
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Hole: 3 Par 4
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328 Yards @ 1 foot down
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Tee:
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Once again, elevated tees, I like the flowers surrounding the Tees, it’s a nice touch esthetically. We can see a winding path of light rough up to the FW starting about 130 yards from the Tee here. But here’s the twist in your joint there is a second FW off to the east as an island and a foot bridge to make it across. Thank God last time I encountered something like this I had to ford a raging river. Lost my fav putter that day. This second FW looks very similar to a fat bicycle seat with the wide end away from you.
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Fairway (FW):
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Well, we have two different ways to play this hole you can go to the side piece or stay with the mainland. I’m not that talented to play the side piece as well. So, I’m sticking with the main FW. To get a good shot on to the green from the mainland FW you’ll want the LZ about 250-300 yards. Conveniently it’s also where the FW turns SW and the elevation starts to get higher. 😊IYKYK(If you know, you know) you’ll catch it if you check out your map. Well back to this bow…um…hole, gonna have to make a well calculated shot to the green. If you hit it too hard, you’ll be choking on the water.
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Green:
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This lil green cloud has red hairs all around the edges. Obviously, you have to use your imagination to see this or just be high as a kite. I guess it can be more of a peanut, around the edges of the lobes you’ll have some red runners about 2-3 squares in, there is a general slope down going north with the east edges curled up. To the north side of the bunker there will be two greens…uh scratch that. To the North side of the green there will be 2 bunkers. If you took the side piece you won’t have to worry about it. But you will have one palm tree and a bunch of mulch with flowers.
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Editing notes
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At the tee box to the east side, the look would have enhanced the feel if red mulch was used to separate the heavy rough for the pathway leading to the FW. These are very minor suggestions, wonderful course so far. Great job at getting the curve in the bridge, that is a bit tedious for that length. Nicely done, very smooth.
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Hole: 4 Par 3
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135 Yards u/19 feet down
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Tee:
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Surprise no elevated tee box this time, still shooting down but that’s not any problem. This hole runs South to North with a lil valley before the green. The FW did end up moving to the opposite side of the green, for those that tend to overshoot going downhill. And those of us that underestimate, we have 3 bunkers sitting on the south side of this green.
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Fairway (FW):
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Wait, I thought FW came before the green not after. No matter I still end up in the rough smelling flowers.
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Green:
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The green lies running from the Southeast to northwest with a nice gradient to it. Be careful with the most southeastern tip, putting at this grade you may end up 50 feet away, so you may want to stay on point.
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Editing notes
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Wonderful idea with the large number signs and embedding them into a wall for a larger and stylish way to display your hole or next I may borrow this idea too. This is a complete personal preference I would have liked to have seen more of the red mulch used around the rocks and flowers to set them apart. It’s a beautiful course.
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Hole: 5 Par 4
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449 Yards @ 33 feet up
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Tee:
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Just as a reminder we are playing from the green tee shooting at pin 3. This is kind of a straight shot, minor curves on this hole, mostly you will have to watch out for elevation changes and wind. Trying to shoot with jello arms is fun and slightly dangerous. Those of us who can’t shoot the 350+ will have to contend with a slightly narrow LZ unless you want to completely shorten your drive, yeah right…
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Fairway (FW):
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OK…well damn there is no smoking on the course, security here is tight. However the club house it’s all good. My caddy did bring an assortment of edibles…so this chocolate cookie is absolutely amazing. The FW starts about 170 yards from my tee, I’d say about 200 yards from the pin you’ll see your first bunker of 3 bunkers on the west side. This will be a split FW 90/10. I love the feel going up to the green with the slight incline marching up to the green gives you a real sense of time and care that went into the course.
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Green:
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This green slants from east to the west, with some red runners around the fringe of the north and south sides but the east and west sides are nearly free of the red. So often you hear these birds, but you never actually see them not today we have birds.
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Editing notes
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I know how much time I take to place certain items; the rock layout is wonderful. The small embankment to the west of the green I would have made it just a bit wider to smooth into the cart path. The FW off to the east has a slight lip coming up, the FW here would have looked a bit more smoothed out, a little more natural. The ending of the FW before it splits off for the light rough path could have been either pulled a little farther away or brought in closer to the FW. The path became a bit pointy pulling the edge of the FW. Not sure if it would be the second surface of the mulch or the second surface of the FW that is the culprit of this blemish…
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Hole: 6 Par 5
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597 Yards @ 31 feet down
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Tee:
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This hole runs from North to South in a rather straight shot, the FW starts roughly @ 200 yards, so if you can’t hit passed 200 you may need to work on your game. With a small bay to the west, you can see a windmill just chugging along. With a descent of 58 feet or more down on to the FW your LZ from tee will be a bit farther than you are used to.
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Fairway (FW):
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The first hazard that you’ll be contending with will be a bunker to the west side of the FW, about 300 yards or so away from pin 3. There are a numerous beaches here but there are none to speak of around the ocean. Your next bunker sits on the east side of the FW about 270 yards from pin then we have 2 sets of fraternal twin bunkers one set to the west and the other set to the east. The first set of fraternal twins on the west side sits about 230 yards from pin, while the second set of fraternal twins are about 200 yards from the pin. The FW is in a wavy, zig zag pattern, depending on your skill level you may want to check the wind as these bay breezes get rather bad. If you want to play this hole safe stick to the west side and try to make your LZ after the first bunker. To continue with a safe even par your second shot should be aiming to the east side of the FW trying to avoid the 4 additional bunkers on the west side protecting the green. To play this a bit more risky your First shot still stays to the west as well as your second shot but you’ll want to aim to just before the 4 bunkers this is where the FW will make a turn to avoid these beaches. Just like me and my fashion of play I can’t stay out of enough beaches.
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Green:
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Beware of the red try to keep your balls on the level green…lol. Once you are on the green you’ll have a nice view of the open ocean and a private yacht where you can go for lunch if you paid the extra $500. So, I brought my sack lunch and gonna eat it at the gazebo after my abysmal double bogey, some days you can putt and some days you can’t.
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Editing notes
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A red mulch down the east side mimicking the FW on either side of each FW of 5 & 6 might have provided a little bit more of a “pop”. Great job at providing special views, and the rock going around the entire island was a good touch.
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Thank you for reading, these are just one man’s opinion, play and edit as you wish, not how someone else tells you to.
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Please Let me, know what you think of my courses. All feedback is welcome.
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PGA 2k23
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Zen City (Par 54) & Zen Hills ( Par ?) 2 courses on one map coming soon in July
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Cherry Blossom
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Waterfall Castle
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Put Put Asteroid
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The Temple (Different from 2k21) More Challenging greens default is no rain
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The Temple2: Blue Sky (Different form 2k21)
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PGA 2k21
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La Cascade Castille
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Put Put Asteroid
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The Temple
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The Temple2

Preface: "Don't you ever dare to think you can escape me, Dalia. You're mine to love, mine to hate, mine to protect, and mine to destroy. You belong to me, you've always been." His words were nothing but a mere whisper as the man who clutched onto me once again savored my lips as if he'd been famished his whole life for this very moment. His tongue danced with mine in a game neither of us understood. Were they fighting for love or fueled by hate?
One of his hands secured me in my position, as if he was scared I'd escape. And his other hand took its sweet time caressing and teasing my skin as it traveled to its destination. His lips never left mine, even as my lungs burned for air and I wriggled my body to make him stop. But he didn't. It was as if he was intent on making it my last kiss, and is determined to make it worth it. The moment he found my burning core, he cupped it, squeezing it until I withered in pain.
I bit onto my bottom lip, sinking my teeth so deep that drops of blood dripped from it as I tried to hold in the loud, throaty moan daring to escape. There was just a thin wall keeping us apart from the horde of media who were standing outside eagerly waiting to get their hands on something that would tear us to shreds. If there's something better than a scandal, it's a celebrity scandal. And an affair of a newbie actress with Hollywood's heartthrob is definitely news worth telling. It could ruin his career and my life, yet it didn't matter to him. All he wanted in this moment was to claim the woman he's loved all his life and who destroyed his love within a minute.
"Do you know, Dalia, what you mean to me? I love you so damn much that I could write your name all over my life. Yet I hate you just as much that I'd burn down everything I am to wipe you from existence," he breathed against my lips, finally allowing me to breathe. I took a lungful of air, only to have my breath catch in my throat as his fingers ruthlessly slid into my folds.
"Altair, stop! It... it hurts," I barely managed to speak the words when another of his fingers slid into my burning core, stretching me to a point I'd never experienced before.
But my pleas had no effect on him; his three fingers continued to torture me, sliding to the depths of my womanhood and then pulling back, only to fill me to the brim once again. The sensation of his fingers sliding against the sensitive walls of my core set my skin ablaze, yet I couldn't get enough. I've always hated when a man touched me, but why does my body betray me when it comes to him?
What makes him so special? Is it the love he once had for me? Or is it the fact that he's become my only salvation in this godforsaken world? But does it even matter? It's a tale of love, hate, and revenge. Whether love wins or hate does, it doesn't matter, because all I want is my revenge.
Episode 1: If I were to tell the joke that's stood the test of centuries, it'd be the one and only...
Love!!!
Yeah, I'm talking about those jittery butterflies in your belly doing the cha-cha like it's spring break in there, eyes locked on their face like they're the last chocolate chip cookie in the jar, heart pounding like it's trying to escape your chest, and you doing all sorts of wacky things – like ditching that sweet gig in Paris and hauling ass through the airport like your butt's on fire just to win them back. Let me tell you, all these feelings are nothing but a big ol' scam, like pyramid scheme-level scam.
Now, before you happily-ever-after believers start throwing fairy dust at me, hear me out. I might sound like the president of the anti-love club right now, but sweetie, I've been dealing with cheaters practically every damn day for the past 90 days.
When my friend Maeve and I, both broke as jokes, launched 'Siren's Call,' our very own loyalty-testing agency a year ago, we never imagined we'd be drowning in cases. And, now it's my bread and butter, catching those sneaky snakes red-handed, gathering evidence so their poor suspecting partners cash in on a jackpot of karma during divorce settlement.
And, at the moment, I find myself in the company of my client number 47, Julia's husband David, who seems to have mistaken my waist for a decorative armrest. Ah, the joys of being treated like furniture. This man didn't bother to ask for my consent. Ughh, I hate it... I absolutely loathe it when they touch me. And my body isn't holding back from showing him just how much it detests his touch.
Sweat drips down my forehead, my hands tremble with nerves, my knees feel like jelly and I fear I might collapse any second, and my stupid heart twists painfully in my chest. 1... 2... 3... I silently count, reminding myself of the hundred damn reasons why I have to put up with this. But it's not doing much to help. I feel bile rise in my throat, and I have this overwhelming urge to hurl all over this guy. Gross, I know, but so are his words.
"I figured a classy dame like you would have good taste," he slurred, leaning in closer like he thought he was being suave. But all I wanted to do was smack him upside the head.
"Well, my taste buds are alright, but when it comes to men, they've got a history of bad choices" I gritted my teeth, struggling to keep my cool.
"Let me guess, your heart's been shattered, huh? Man, who in their right mind would break the heart of someone as stunning as you? I swear on my mom's lasagna, if you were into me, I'd get my eyes laminated. So that, I wouldn't even think about checking out anyone else but you," He licked his lips, his gaze descending to my breasts, as if he's suddenly forgotten the art of subtlety.
"Aww, you're so loyal, just like my neighbor's dog, Jimmy," I cooed, feeling sick as his hands started wandering. 'It's all for Maeve's sake.' I chanted in my head again and again, praying, hoping my fear just doesn't win.
"Bet Jimmy's a real cutie, just like me," he tilted his head, poking his fingers in his chubby cheeks, trying to look adorable. "Kill him, his wife will thank you later," And now my inner voice was beyond over this guy.
"Mhmm, you two could practically pass for twins. He barks too much, just like you" I quipped, unable to hold back any longer as my patience wore thin.
Alright, maybe that's not the textbook way to flirt, and more likely make any boy run away. But, I'm telling you, I'm a freaking expert at flirting game. Check out my track record – I've charmed 46 men out there. But for some reason, this dude's really getting under my skin.
"Hahaha, a babe with a sense of humor, deadly combo, I swear." And ladies and gentlemen, we have a contender here who clearly left his self-respect at home, all in the hopes of scoring tonight – either that or it never made it into his wardrobe to begin with!
"You know, I've got some tricks up my sleeve too. How about we bounce to my place, and I'll show you what I've got? I bet you'll be impressed..." His spiel got cut off by his wife's ear-splitting voice, which unfortunately blasts painfully loud through my cheap Bluetooth earpiece lodged in my other ear.
"Ha, is this guy seriously trying to flex his skills? What skills does he even have, airing out the same dirty skivvies for a month? This freeloader's been mooching off me for a decade, and now he's out there two-timing me. You know what, Dalia? Just break it..."
"Break what? His eggs?" My bestie Maeve chimed in. This girl just loves violence I swear.
"Eggs... his noggin, break whatever needs breaking. Personally, I vote we send him packing. We'll stash this motherfucker in the backyard cemetery; nobody will bat an eye if one more schmuck vanishes." Mrs. 47's fury practically singed my ears.
"Yeah, but if the cops catch wind, we're toast, right, girl? We're only on the hunt for proof of your heartbreak, not to bust your hubby's skull." Maeve and Mrs. 47 are both lurking outside, tasked with keeping an eye on us, but it seems they missed the memo on stealth.
"Excuse me? What did you think? My place..."The man raised his voice, clearly annoyed by the fact that I've just ignored his proposal. And at this point, to be honest, I just want to get it over with.
"Sure, let's roll." I could still hear Maeve and Mrs. 47 squabbling, but I'm too wiped to care. So I tagged along quietly, praying I get the dirt I need ASAP, so I could crawl back into bed with a wad of cash and maybe hopefully with the last remaining threads of sanity
*****************************
The car ride with this idiot has been nothing but pure torture. He's been trying to grope my legs, hands, waist, hairs – heck, he even made a play for my toes – don't ask me how, trust me, you don't want the gory details.
I swear, I was so close to jumping out of the window – not because of his pervy touching habits, but because of his awful flirting skills. Someone needs to sit this guy down and give him the lowdown: to pull off a "baby girl," you've gotta be either Massimo-level hot daddy or Christian Grey-grade charmer, and sadly, he's rocking neither the Italian stallion vibe nor the billionaire allure. He's more like the guy who brings store-bought cookies to a bake-off – well-meaning, but totally missing the mark. But the good thing is, we've finally made it to his lavish two-story house.
And when I say lavish I so damn mean it, this blue white building is a perfect blend of modern chic and classic. The front yard is so vast, you might need a GPS just to navigate your way to the front door. The façade screams "I've made it" with its grandiose columns and a front porch spacious enough to host a block party. And this... meticulously manicured lawn – damn it's so green! is this even possible? I'm sure as hell it's Photoshopped.
But all those good vibes flew out of my brain the moment we neared the front door and it freaking swung open in our faces... by itself, and there was pitch darkness in the house.
Mrs. 47, aka Julia, made sure that none of the staff was at home when we came here. She's with Maeve a few blocks away, waiting for us to go inside, so how the heck did the door just magically open? Mr. Clueless over here must be as lost as me, by the way he's standing there staring into the abyss.
I had a bad feeling about this dude, an even worse feeling about this house, and the absolute worst feeling about this whole damn night.
"No one... should be home at this hour. So why the heck is this door...?" He gulped nervously. So, now he's sweating bullets about getting busted?
"You sure this place isn't haunted?" My serious tone freaked even myself out.
"N-No... I mean, the only ghost I've seen in this house is my wif... wi... widow sister." His words came out slower than a whisper, as he took a few steps back.
"Why don't we go inside and check? I'm sure your widowed sister won't mind me crashing your crib." With a flick of my finger, I motioned for him to follow as I strutted confidently inside. I've seen this kinda stuff go down in horror flicks a million times. It's very first warning from the demons hiding out in the house. And even though I'm pretty sure I'm way smarter than those clueless teens who bite the dust first in horror movies, because they gotta know what the ghost looks like, when it comes to curiosity, I'm just as dumb as 'em.
☠️⚠️Warning: First things first, do not, I repeat, do not enter a strange house with an unknown strange man, kiddo. He could turn you into tomorrow's newspaper headline. Secondly, when you see a door open by itself, pray to God, Buddha, almighty, and burn that darn house down before the ghost catches up to you.☠️⚠️
Back to the story... the house was painfully silent; the only sounds were the 'tick-tock' of some ancient million-dollar antique grandpa clock and the 'clip-clop' of my borrowed, worn-out dollar store heels. Not a soul, ghost, or even a hint of a breeze in sight... until the silence was shattered by a loud, over-the-top laugh. Whoever's trying to be a monster needs acting lessons ASAP.
"Who- Who are you?" Mr. 47, shaking like a leaf beside me, yelled out with whatever ounce of bravery he had left.
"Me? You're asking who I am? I'm your sweet-sweet death, loser. Hahahaha!" That darn fake laugh again. Whoever they are, they really need to stop now.
"I'm your sweet-sweet death, loser! Hahahaha!" The mystery voice cackled again. I swear, they either forgot their lines or missed the memo about subtlet. Their silhouette is now slightly visible in the darkness; they're standing on the head stairs, descending one step with each passing minute. And guess what they did next? Yep, you guessed it right: that man screamed 'I'm your sweet-sweet death' one freaking time again.
"Alright, Mister Mystery, zip it. If you belt out those cringe-worthy lines one more time, I'm gonna hit you where it hurts – real bad." I shot him a warning glance, trying to keep my cool. And surprisingly, he actually listened.
He didn't repeat those god-awful words, but this time, he screamed at the top of his lungs "You worthless, good-for-nothing Jojo! I trusted you with one simple task and you botched it up royally. Congratulations, asshole, you've single-handedly sabotaged my grand entrance. Didn't I specifically instructed you to flick the switch the moment I dropped my killer line, didn't I?"
And just like that, the lights flooded the house. For a second, I was blinded; it was so darn bright. But once my eyes adjusted, I wish I hadn't seen what was in front of me. In all my 27 years, I've never been scared, but in that moment, I screamed like a banshee.
"Holy shit! whoever's on the clock right now – God, Buddha, or even the intern – I'm officially calling in that favor. Save me!"

They’re finally here!!!! They are incredible! I had multiple gluten-eating coworkers try them and they said they taste damn near like the original, and they all rated them a 10/10!!! I found these at a small grocery store chain near me called Redners!!!

So after a month on 2.5 and a month on 5.0, the bad news is I haven't had a dose yet this week because of a shortage in the area. My provider is working to get me something. I was supposed to take my next dose 3 days ago, and I'm definitely feeling hungrier today.
I am basically using zepbound to help encourage my intermittent fasting. Most days I'm done with dinner by 6:30-7:00, and don't eat again until 1 or 2 the next day. Drinking plenty of water and a couple diet cokes. Eating pretty clean for the most part, although I do enjoy a couple of chocolate chip cookies for dessert every other night or so. But eating salad and fresh fruit more than I have in a long time.
Been pretty cool on pizza night to have 3 slices of pizza instead of an entire medium.
Battling a shoulder issue so hopefully adding weight training into the mix and some more walking, but otherwise I've been pretty active.
Started at 337 on the first dose, down to 299 as of today. First time I've been below 3 bills in a while. Next big milestone is 20 lbs away.
No side effects to speak of so far, which is nice.
Anywho, not bad for a 6'3, 53 yr old man.

1. Always be home before sundown.
2. Always bring a stranger to the Harvest Festival.
3. Avoid the Silent Ridge, especially Veilwood Manor.
4. Don’t whistle and should you hear your name on the wind, no you didn’t.
5. Lock your windows on the four turning days and draw the proper symbol on the door before dark. Blood is best.
6. Don’t marry or move house in the seventh month.
7. Don’t touch the oranges at the side of the road.
8. Stay away from Midnight Bakes.
9. Most of all, never, ever enter the woods.

We learned the rules in nursery and you’d best believe they’re fiercely enforced.
So, to my knowledge, no one has ever entered the woods. It's why as I take the corner on Cherry Street I’m muttering to myself about stupid hormones and almost blunder right into Mrs Anderson. She’d relish reporting me to the council for being out that close to sundown so I dove clumsily into the bushes. There was a tense moment when her little dog stopped to bark fiercely at the shrubbery I’d crouched in, but he’s a yappy little rat at the best of times so she just tutted and yanked him down the street.
I grinned as she stopped to smoke a quick cigarette before crossing over to Malborough Walk, I hate smoking on principle but am in favour of anything that gets that vicious old witch closer to the grave.
She changed her cardigan, hiding the old one in a bag behind the hedge and scrubbed her hands with sanitiser before slipping in a couple of breath mints. Her husband, a militant anti-smoker was rumoured to be in league with the Twilight Guardian so you’d think she’d have bigger things to worry about, but her faffing did give me a chance to text Micah to check our little adventure was still a go.
She aimed her rat dog perfectly so he peed all over Mrs Gardiner’s award-winning roses before finally heading home with a happy smile. My phone buzzed just as she moved out of sight and I got goddamned butterflies when I saw Micah’s name flash across the screen. ‘C u soon x’. I frowned down at the text speak, it was a beige flag for sure, but hey, no one’s perfect and there was that kiss at the end.
We rarely got new folk in Whitebridge. My mum told me Micah’s family was headhunted so-to-speak because his dad was a renowned thatcher who strongly championed traditional materials. They love that crap here, I swear they'd still sign cheques with a quill if they could get away with it. The world marches on while Whitebridge abides.
My dad said that we needed new blood and the Williams family also came with seven children, a mix of boys and girls, which made the council happy. Every vacancy had to be filled quickly and so much better if it also brought along future generations to indocrinate.
I was all twisted up about it.
My mother had been sick for a very long time, had wasted away to little more than skin and bone and I knew the council were already whispering about recruitment. She wasn’t even in the ground yet and my father had been spending his afternoons fixing up the widow Stone’s cottage. The tight fisted old cow had even given me a free dessert last week - a guilt cookie no doubt. I'd stabbed my little pocket knife into her tires right in front of her, but no one had said anything, which made it worse.
I didn’t need to be so careful after Cherry Street. There used to be a twilight bus service intended to round up the slow, the rebellious or the unwary. But, after Mr Griffiths had vanished no one wanted to take on the responsibility or expense of running it so it'd been cancelled. Apparently we should all take personal responsibility for our safety.
Once I’d skirted past the boarded-up clubhouse and the long, twisted shadows surrounding it I relaxed and put on some music. I only put in one earbud though because I’m not stupid - tonight excepted - sprinting past the fly-thronged stagnant pond into the woods.
After years of stern-faced warnings and veiled threats, I’d expected a fog-shrouded horror filled with looming trees and sharp-toothed monsters, but the forest was pretty. There were clumps of wildflowers, bushes heavy with sweet berries and the birds sang from high trees all around me. Rather than being a life ending nightmare, turned out the woods were an Instagram picnic spot. Figures.
I’d brought nothing but chocolate bars and condoms because I’m an optimistic kind of girl so I took the too-orange lipstick tube out of my pocket and drew arrows on the trees to mark my path. I was seventeen years old with parents who wouldn’t let me have a smartphone so short of pinching a compass from some museum it was lipstick or nothing.
It was the golden hour so I snapped some photos on my mother’s digital camera that I think she’d bought in ancient times - 1992 I think it was, so I didn’t have high hopes about the quality. I kept asking for one of those cool retro Polaroid cameras but I live in a town that’s only recently upgraded from sundials. Plus, outside of Harvest season we needed permission from the town elders to drive the seven hours to the nearest city - only place that stocked 600 film and I doubted I’d get that until I was about forty-two. That was way too old to be cool so it wouldn’t matter by then anyway.
I saw Micah before he saw me and I hid behind the tree to drink him in a little. He was as gold as the late afternoon, all wavy hair, long limbs and shining white teeth - like a pretty horse.
I watched horror movies, I knew how stupid this whole thing was - I might as well have come in a prom dress and heels, but knowing I was all alone in the woods with the boy I wanted more than a Polaroid camera, well, all that just faded away. Stupid I know, but hormones.
I’d be grounded for the rest of my natural life once I got home, so I resolved to enjoy myself fully and stepped out of the trees before I started overthinking what to say. ‘Hey’, I said, eloquent as always.
‘Hey’, he replied, so it was okay I guess.
‘I took some photos’, I said and decided there and then, twenty-five years from forty-two or not, I’ll never be cool.
He was looking at my legs in my cut-off jean shorts when he said. ‘Show me’.
Micah barely looked at the first few while his eyes continued to drift over my bare skin. I felt his attention like a caress. But, when I hit on the third photo he frowned and took the camera from my hand. ‘What’s that?’
I was staring at his lips, so I said. ‘Huh’.
Thankfully he took my reaction for surprise rather than further evidence of my social awkwardness. ‘Weird, right?’ he asked.
I forced myself to look at the screen and frowned too. ‘Huh’, I said again because I’m as eloquent as I am subtle.
It was weird. There was the forest and the flowers, just as expected, but on the furthest tree, right at the top, about forty feet up, there was a shadow that looked a lot like a hand. Not a human one, but it didn’t look like an animal either. It was small but too long and thin with three indistinct smudges that might have been fingers clinging to the trunk.
‘Go on’, Micah said and I did.
The next photo was normal, but the one after had the hand again, lower down the trunk that time as though something was climbing to the ground. The rest were trees and flowers again.
‘Maybe a weird branch?’ Micah said.
I shrugged, looking at his lips again. ‘Might be the camera’, I said. ‘It’s prehistoric. Or maybe a trick of the light’.
He caught me looking and gave me one of those knee-trembling smiles. He liked me looking at him and as I realised that, well suddenly neither of us cared much about the photo.
His fingers wrapped around mine, tentative at first, but after a reassuring squeeze, he held on tight.
'Let’s explore’, he said, ‘before the light goes’.
Hiking around the woods, pretty as they were, wasn’t exactly the type of exploration I’d had in mind, but it did mean I got to watch him walk away so it wasn’t all bad. He smiled at my lipstick arrows but didn’t tease me so we walked in companionable silence while I contemplated how to explain I wanted to marry him and have his beautiful children without making it awkward.
‘How far are we going?’ I asked after a while as the long shadows started lapping hungrily at the edges of the treeline.
He looked at me over his shoulder and grinned at me again. ‘As far as you want, love’. He pulled out a flashlight and a box of matches. ‘I came prepared after all’.
‘So did I’, I mumbled, patting my pockets.
He kissed me for the first time in a field of strange standing stones as the moon found its place amongst an expanse of glittering stars and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I was right then. Afterwards, in the awkward fumble to replace what he’d taken off my camera fell out of my pocket.
Micah pulled me down beside him and kissed me again. ‘Let’s take a selfie’, he said. ‘Just for us’.
He was only half dressed so I gave him a look. ‘Better be just for us’.
Micah laughed, low and easy, happy too I suppose and shrugged. ‘We should probably head back soon’.
There was that fear in me now. His desire to rush suddenly back to normality stirred up insecurities I’d pushed away in the heat of the moment.
He saw it. ‘We can explore more next time’, he said softly and we both smiled in the near dark.
We took two selfies in the end and were too busy arguing over whether we should go for a third to notice it at first - I’d pulled a weird face in both that Micah thought was cute and I most definitely didn’t. But in the end, my eyes drifted beyond us to the landscape beyond.
‘Huh’, I said because three times the charm.
Micah yawned as he shrugged on his shirt. ‘What now?’
I tapped my nail against the screen. ‘That’s not a smudge’.
The clearing was large, the treeline about twenty feet back from the stones and there was a figure standing in front of them. Its features were indistinct - the flash wasn’t amazing after all - but it couldn’t be anything else. It was about ten feet tall and above it were more of those tiny white hands against the bark.
We both spun around at the same time and Micah shone his flashlight in that direction - it was that stupidly expensive one with 100,000 lumens that’s meant to light up the night. It did and we saw that the treeline was empty. No strangely shaped tree, no white hands and nothing that might be mistaken for a person.
It was then I noticed how quiet the forest was. With the coming of the night, a subtle change had come over the woods and I didn’t like it.
‘Take another’, Micah whispered and I turned to him, confused. ‘Just do it’, he said, fingers digging into my arm in a way I didn't like, but I did it because I wanted to see too.
Micah had kept the flashlight aimed at the trees while I took the picture. The figure was in the photo again, but it was a step or so closer that time and what I assumed was its head had turned more in our direction, as though we’d drawn its attention.
‘There’s nothing there’, Micah said and repeated it twice, as though he could convince himself it was true.
I took another photo.
The figure was closer again and where its head faced us, two red glimmers that might have been eyes burned against the black. I took a moment to study it more closely - know your enemy and all. It looked like those Ents from the Lord of the Rings movies, all stretched out and bark-like, with strange jointed limbs that bent in all the wrong ways. There were more white hands too and somehow I knew there wouldn't be one without the other.
‘It’s been with us from the start’, I said.
Micah was breathing too fast and his pupils were dilated. I reminded myself that he hadn’t grown up here and wasn’t as used to weird stuff as I was, so I gave him a moment to freak out in the dark, though I did judge him for it - a little bit.
‘Monsters don’t exist’, he said.
‘Some places are old and have long memories’, I said, repeating something my father had said once. ‘What we call monsters weren’t always seen that way and they don’t always realise things have changed’.
Micah was pale as he stabbed a finger toward the trees. ‘That’s a monster’, he said and I cringed. ‘What?’ he demanded. ‘Am I hurting its precious fee fees? Will it kill us quicker now?’
I decided to hold off on the children for now, at least until I’d assured myself of his intelligence.
‘They told you about the Twilight Guardian, right?’ I asked. ‘And Aurilis?'
Micah only nodded, seeming beyond words for the moment. I liked him better quiet.
‘Why not three Gods then, when we already have two?’ I asked. 'One that's fallen out of favour'.
‘God, you’re really one of them’, he said with a groan. ‘You know those are just stupid superstitions, right?’
I liked him less then.
‘I’ll ask you about that again after Harvest’, I said as I took another photo.
It was closer still, large steps eating up the space between us and one arm was extended, as though to grab onto something. There was a small white face peeping out from behind his legs, but it looked all wrong and I deleted the picture without examining it further.
‘Stop that’, Micah said and hit the camera out of my hand. I wondered what I'd ever seen in him.
‘It’s the only way we can see where it is’, I pointed out, retrieving it with a scowl. The case was cracked, but it still worked. ‘Thanks for that, by the way’.
‘What do we do?’ Micah asked.
‘We leave', I said. I didn't say obviously, but the word hung in the air between us anyway.
It was a good plan and would have worked perfectly if the lipstick marks were still on the trees. Micah took that about as well as you might expect. It took me too long to calm him down and the whole time the camera burned a hole in my hand as I fought the impulse to take another photo.
Just when I’d got him to stop muttering and trying to break the camera a long low whooping sound echoed through the trees. It sounded like a large group calling to one another in the dark and there was a long creaking sound in response as the woods shifted to meet them. They were getting closer.
‘Why isn’t it attacking us?’ Micah asked and as much as his voice irritated me, it was a good question.
It was huge, it could have been upon us already. It could have taken us when we were lost in one another in the grass, but it had only watched and waited. Why?
There was a long low creak behind us, the only sound for miles and I knew it was looming over us at that moment - a realisation I wisely didn’t share with Micah. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a red gleam high above. The creature was showing itself to me. Micah's eyes flicked about constantly but he saw nothing and I knew then that it wasn't only me who saw his true worth. He was an outsider and always would be.
We started walking again and another whoop came from our right, Micah veering left, away from it. A series of similar cries continued as we blundered through the dark forest and I privately understood that we were being herded somewhere for an unknown purpose. Micah had reverted to childhood, clinging to my hand like I was his mother leading him across a road and my passion for him died a little more as I realised it.
His torch died, of course. His face was scratched by branches that seemed to move aside for me, mud eating at his ankles while I walked on cloud. After an indeterminable time, we broke from the trees and found ourselves in another clearing.
It had a stone table in the middle covered in crimson stains that sent Micah off into another spiral and he trotted after me, panting slightly as I explored. I ignored him. It was beautiful really, the grooves of the ancient stone, the distant sound of water and the lush greenery; flowers richer in colour and sweeter in scent than any I’d seen elsewhere.
‘What is this place?’ Micah whined.
‘You really don’t know anything, do you?’ I said but didn’t bother waiting for his answer.
Instead, I anticipated the long creak before it came as a patch of dying flowers at the edges of the field bloomed again. Life from death. The woods held their breath as I retrieved a dirty little boot from the ground behind the stone. I dropped it before Micah saw, exhaled and with it came my murmured answer. ‘Yes’.
‘What?’ Micah asked, but I only smiled and took his hand, leading him away.
He gaped at the first lipstick mark beyond the little clearing, but after he saw the third he’d simply decided that we’d suffered some sort of group hysteria brought on by the dark and the silly superstitions rammed down our throat at every opportunity. I didn't argue.
I took one more photo as we left the woods, but I didn’t show that one to Micah. In it the figure lingered on the edge of the woods, one hand raised in farewell - it knew I would return soon enough, after all, we'd made a bargain.
It’s all too easy to rationalise the inexplicable beneath the comforting glow of modern streetlights and by the time we’d reached his street Micah was all soft kisses and easy laughter again. I couldn't believe it. We were done by midsummer.
He embarrassed himself and his family at the Harvest Festival and they packed up and left before Yule. It was for the best. The council was disappointed to lose someone of his father’s skill, but it was widely agreed that they just hadn’t fit in. I didn’t often agree with the council, but I did agree with that.
They were already searching for the next family. The old ones were stirring and hungry so we needed more people before the next turning day. In my opinion, their insistence on giving everything the personal touch wasn’t working anymore. We needed to get Whitebridge on the map and reach the people who liked creepy little towns with interesting histories and customs. The right people would come looking for us, but of course, they all switched off the moment I started talking about the internet. Sundials, remember.
I laboured alone in the forest a day or so before Valentine's Day and when our baby made its wet, squealing entrance into the world the trees showered us both in cherry blossoms. The whoops were closer that day and now and again I caught flashes of small faces in the gloom watching over us both.
My hands left new crimson stains on the stone as I placed my daughter on it wrapped in a warm blue blanket the shade of Micah’s eyes. I didn’t know what He would do with the child, but it didn’t matter really as I’d always known I couldn’t keep her.
But I did take a photo as I left the clearing, out of curiosity more than anything and that one I kept. An image of tiny girl cupped gently in the hand of something much older and larger, red eyes looking down upon her while little white hands reached up in welcome.
That was six months ago and I wake today to the sounds of crockery in the kitchen as my mother bustles around making breakfast. My father sits at the table, watching her with heart eyes. Mrs Stone left town a while back after a mysterious house fire and all was as it should be again. My father hadn’t been the first man she’d had working on her cottage so no one missed her - besides, her cookies were terrible.
My mother, hale and hearty again sets a plate brimming with blueberry pancakes before me. ‘The old Collins house has new occupants’, she says, pouring coffee for the three of us. ‘Two boys about your age, plus a babe in arms. The wife’s already pregnant again too. Husband’s a butcher, they say’.
‘We’ll be sorted for Harvest this year then’, my father says, flicking through the paper. ‘No one wants a repeat of last year. You’d think that boy had never seen blood before’. He tuts and sighs, a damning condemnation indeed.
My nose wrinkles as it often does when I think about Micah. ‘Still’, I say, tucking into my breakfast, ‘Whitebridge will welcome six new souls’.
‘New blood’, my father agrees.
My mother sits down with us, but I notice she doesn't eat much and her hand lingers on her stomach like she's soothing old hurts. The first bite of autumn is in the air and spring feels a long way away. The Holly King will ride soon, leaving nothing but cold death in his wake and it will take all of our efforts to see the lands bloom again.
‘Hold dinner. I’ll take a basket over after lunch’, I say, losing my appetite. ‘Show the boys around town’.
‘That’s kind of you’, my mother says approvingly, slipping me another pancake. ‘Eat up now, you've lost so much weight since spring'.
'Be back before sundown', my father adds, diving back into his paper and it's all settled.
‘I will’, I lied.

To start off, im not on one end nor the other when it comes to weight. My moms side were very slender people in their youth but after kids and poor diet are more on the moderate to just overweight spectrum. My dads side, everyone is pretty overweight. Every one of them including my dad. No one on any side of my family has ever been into fitness. Not even my sister, it’s only me and I look like I don’t even work out. I look like an average woman my age, no muscle definition or flat stomach, or toned butt. I’m soft, strong underneath.
I am 26F, 5’1, 136 and I can understand weightloss is slow, but I have to work SO hard to even be in healthy weight range. My body wants to so bad stay in a weight between 140-150 which is very apparently too much. I feel like this is my dads side of my genetics coming in. I track my calories. I go to the gym 5x a week and I’m serious about it. For over 8 years now I’ve gone through transformations, then regression, then transformation, and I’ve regressed so I’m working hard to get back down to 120 or so.
Where I get envious is when I see people around my age, my height, and not work out a day in their lives or at the least maybe 1 yoga day or Pilates a month and just look ridiculously good. One particular girl at my job hasn’t cheered since highschool (5 year ago for her) and her legs are toned, her arms, her backside, etc. i find myself comparing myself for her because she looks a little like me too. She told me the other day she was 115lbs and hadn’t worked out in over 7 months. How is this possible at all!? She eats m&ms and chips and soda.
Meanwhile I’m eating eggs, fish, cottage cheese, no soda in 5 years. I have a large belly pooch that will never go away and my core is a strong as ever. It makes me want to give it all up and cry myself to sleep. Im so hard on my body. I try to be grateful. I try to tell myself to be strong- but mentally all I can think of is “it’s not fair!”

So obviously a lot more than that happened, but clickbait title and all. Any way, I'll include every detail I can, since it might be important.
I should start this by saying a lot of external forces could've affected this. A. I've had vivid dream, nightmares, and hallucinations of varying kinds and severity since I was 3, and that's never changed. B. I've had chronic anxiety since the age of 6. C. I've had on and off symptoms of some greater mental disorder or depression my entire life, but don't have access to anything that could help me. D. I honestly have a big issue with caffeine. I drank about half a soda can before laying down at a weird time for me for an afternoon nap, which may have allowed this dream to actually happen since normally I'm not asleep long enough to actually dream. E for Edit: I also had chicken nuggets with barbecue sauce and chocolate chip jam cookies before falling asleep Edit F: I started my period for this month the same day
Those factors in mind, let's of course discuss the dream. I'll try to write what I can remember, but dreams are notoriously forgetful. Some things may be out of order of progression and written when I remember them instead.
I don't remember the start of the dream very well. Something something, evil space empire group thing, something something I'm the rebel leader, something something me and another person I don't remember are running from someone I don't remember and Keqing from Genshin Impact. I should clarify saying I'm not a big fan of her character, but my dream could just be using it's limited facial knowledge. I didn't feel in any danger though.
I don't really remember how I got there, but I remember going through the hometown I still love in with my current crush. I'm fuzzy here, but I think we were just being cute kids. Riding red bikes and running around. We went down a street I knew well, it's a bridge that crosses over the giant river nearby. That bridge leads to my mother's house in the other town, but we passed it with a sharp left down the other street instead. There was this crowd of people looking towards the bridge making worried crowd noises, but since we passed it so quickly I don't remember what they were worried about, they all had they're back towards us too since they were looking at the bridge.
Another unusual thing is that I saw this entire dream basically in first person. I know that doesn't sound weird, but it is for me. Normally all my dreams are almost shot like a movie or animation. Very rarely am I seeing realistic 3d first person perspective in my dreams.
That aside, back to my current crush. We were running by the woods that passed the street we were on. Somehow, we ended up in some unknown playground, still laughing. It felt so perfect.
This is a little hard to explain since I've never really seen anything like it, but my dream somehow created it. It was kinda under a slide. You know those tunnels you can only crawl through as a kid? I'm sure we all saw one at a playground at some point.
Anyways, he very quickly crawled through to the other side, but I slowed for some reason. I was panting happily since physical activity isn't my strong suit in real life. I remember him standing up to dust himself off. I was still in the tunnel, it was a vaguely wet dirt beneath me I was crawling on, dark brown but not mulch. The red tunnel started closing in one me, till it was just me, him, the dark brown wet dirt, the red plastic outer of the tunnel, and the see through bubble like plastic walls of the tunnel.
I should further clarify I've been having issues with this crush. A. I've had from October when he joined my class to now before we both graduate as seniors to even talk to him. Although we've had some basic talks about what games he's playing on the school computer or the team building where you present about yourself, we never got to have that conversation that sets sparks of a new friendship flying. B. Think of all the things you could ever want in a partner. How they look, how they act, the small things about them. Now imagine them walking into somewhere you have to go to everyday and bring real...yup, lucky me, be careful what you wish for. C. This last year has honestly been hellish, and the idea of even knowing him has been one of the few things keeping me going. However, I've just never managed to get to him. With the deadline of graduation and the constant reminder of "adulthood" and "you'll never see anyone you know ever again after you graduate" I've just been feeling more and more stressed about the relationship, or lack of one. D. I was incredibly moody during class today. Just one of those days where nothing's wrong, but something in the back of your mind is nagging you that something's wrong. I was on edge all day, and when I finally got to the class we share, it didn't get much better. He was there so that was good, but our teacher was absent, and she's a good teacher too. Everyone was being far too loud without her to reign them in, and I was struggling on a project in that class. When the class ended, I got to the door I usually hold for him, at least once a week minimum. I haven't been able to do it lately because my body tried to implode on itself the second summer starts. Anyways, he was maybe a yard or few feet away when I saw him behind me, an awkward distance with no one in between. Too awkward too hold the door, but too short to pretend to keep it open. So, my beautifully tired overstimulated brain who just wanted to go home chose, of course, let him get the door himself. He's a chill guy, way chiller than anyone nowadays and especially anyone my age, but he did at least for my perspective seem a little upset about it
Maybe that would explain what comes next. I don't know why, but I felt the need to confess to him. I was army crawling through a playground and decided now was a genius time to confess. So after he dusted himself off, and I could only see his pants and Converse, still crawling through the tunnel I said, "I love you."
This is where the dream takes a stressful turn. I just remember him crouching down to look me in the eye, with a hand on the tunnel top to steady himself. He just kinda had a 😐 face, which is his natural face, but there was some kind of emotion there I couldn't identify. All he said in response was, "I don't."
Suddenly, I'm pulled from the tunnel by my legs, though it didn't feel scary. I was somewhere by the bridge again, though it wasn't a place I had seen. I was on top of a cliff there, with some binoculars and a wooden fence. I was angrily throwing sticks into the ravine below, muttering something I can't remember about stroking his childish ego. The crowd from the bridge was now this unidentifiable crowd of children, probably middle school aged, just watching me. I turned around and saw him. Well, confusing here, but he turned into Tom Holland with a light blue jean jacket and thin stressed face. I don't know man dreams are weird. I mean he's cute, but I've never been into celebrity crushes or Marvel.
Anyways, I walk by him and I'm somehow in a different space society station cubicle office thing. This was from an old dream I don't remember much, but unusually there was this guy I know from school sitting in the background. We were elementary school friends, but haven't spoken in years. Anyways, this other dumb guy ends up becoming a bad leader later coughs in history books. I just yelled, "Shut up incel!" As soon as he started the speech I remembered, and stormed off. Everyone was staring at me and he actually stopped. Some guy I didn't remember being there immediately started meditating the situation by telling everyone to calm down, and I got the sense I'd somehow changed the previous dream and he was leader now.
I entered this weird room that was an offshoot of the cubicle office, some pod with a few random radars and buttons and stuff, with a window showing the stars outside. Anyways, this older lady appears. Even speaking about her now gives me chills. She was white, with a white fluffy bob that curled at the end. She was rounder, with this weird shirt on. It was black, but with this weird yellow pattern on it. I can only explain it as if you stuck a bunch of lasagna noodles in a diagonal row pattern across her shirt. The shirt had a white neckline and she had black pants on. I don't remember exactly what she said, but it was giving big "scam email" vibes, so I said no. Her smile was just so off putting, her energy in general. She entered the room after I spoke to her, till we were basically face to face with my back against the radar stuff. She might've said something, but suddenly this other woman entered. Some small older lady, who looked vaguely southern Asian in appearance came over an started coughing on her neck, even the previous old lady looked confused.
Then I woke up. I'd slept from around 6pm to 1:04am or 1:40am sometimes around there, weird time for me. I wasn't woken by anything to my knowledge, I'm the heaviest sleeper anyways so I wouldn't wake up if my door exploded. It was a weird dream too. Normally my dreams are straight forward. A. Fun fantasy dream B. Horrific nightmare with monsters C. I don't remember the dream at all D. A strangely specific and prophetic dream showing me things from my real life and trying to tell me something
I think that's what confuses me the most. I'm never confused by my dreams. I tried to look into those dream meaning websites, but either couldn't find the topic or it didn't feel like that was what the dream was trying to tell me.
TLDR: Space empires, throwing sticks while discussing ego, crowds, bridges, red bicycle, running, strange old ladies, and being rejected by my crush. Help needed, excuse any spelling mistakes and be free to ask for more info.

To current and prospective fosteadoptive parents of human children.
Guys, thanks for being willing to help with the kids. Between the tragedy with the mine collapse and half the parents going off to war, we haven’t had enough hands to care for them. Those of you we’ve approved for guardianship have done pretty well so far, but based on some of your questions, our own concerns, and a FEW reports from social workers, we’ve prepared some info and guidelines for proper rearing of human children and strongly ask that you give them a good going over.
David Schneider, head of the Tellus Department of Child Services.
For all guardians of all species in general.

• The cloth coverings we wear are not just for temperature regulation or fashion, nor are they just “comfort objects”. It’s a modesty thing, and it’s actually serious taboo to go without! From the point they can walk, please encourage your kids to keep at least their pelvic regions- and chests, for girls- completely covered in public. More particularly, PLEASE don’t forbid your children from wearing clothes inside your household just because you think it’s silly. Maybe it IS. But it’s also deeply ingrained in our culture and it’s violating to deprive us of it.
  
• The Resket militia on Tellus had concerns about this too https://www.reddit.com/NatureofPredators/s/8ajvE3tp9d; No, the kid aren’t melting. It’s called sweat. We secrete the stuff from our skn when we’re hot or exerting ourselves as a way to cool off. Incidentally, it doesn’t smell great, so expect them to need to shower at least three times a week. Also, make sure they drink plenty of fluids to rehydrate and get their electrolytes. If they start sweating for no reason, call us immediately, as they may be sick or extremely stressed.
  
• In adolescence, that odor becomes more pronounced, so if something smells like death and potato chips, ask your human teen if they remembered to wear deodorant.
  
• Humans children’s teeth regularly come loose and get replaced by new ones. Please, there is no need to panic or try to stick them back in.
  
• So that there isn’t another headline like “Human Girl Hospitalized. Spontaneous Profuse Bleeding”, I’m just gonna ask all of you with girls to read this article [LINK] about the monthly female cycle that manifests at ages 10-12. It’s a harmless- if uncomfortable and embarrassing- phenomena. Just be sure you order the proper hygiene supplies for your adolescent female charges so she can preserve her dignity when it strikes. [LINK to online store]
  
• We have a growing list of Terran and non-Teran vegetation that are beneficial - though not exactly popular- for the kids to consume. please check the link [LINK] and take what roots and greens they say will kill them with a healthy dose of skepticism.
  
• Clothing will need to be washed regularly. Normally we’d have private washing machines for that, but squishing them around in a bucket of warm, soapy water will do. Just don’t do the reds with the whites or they’ll turn pink. (Come to think of it, I HAD been wondering where that new trend was coming from….)
  
• if the kids offers you some brown, bittersweet goodness from their goodie bag, and you should politely thank them tell them you can’t eat those. It’s called chocolate. We just got some plantations up for the stuff. But anyway, it’s usually toxic to non-humans, so until we do further studies, please don’t risk it.
  
• Jaslip, that’s double for you. Also, avoid grapes while you’re at it. Those are the smooth, toe-pad size berries, usual green, red, or purple. Those will be in the fruit cup we’ll send them.
  
• Stay away from garlic too. Check the ingredients on their microwave meals before you sample them.
  
• Maybe chicken bones aren’t so great either…..
  
• Oh, heck! Just stay away from anything we feed them until further notice! We eat so much poisonous crap.
  
• Smigli’s, you’re probably fine.
  

KREV:

• Humans don’t have the kind of fingearm strength that you and Obors have. Especially not babies. Please do not place them on your tail and expect them to cling on for any length of time.
  
• Obor toys are GREAT for baby’s and toddlers. Older kids? Not so much. As a rule of thumb, just get them what YOU enjoyed when you were their age, or better, ask them what THEY like.
  
• One area where their preferences will align with an Obor’s is in outdoor toys and jungle gyms. Humans kids LOVE to climb things. Just be sure they have something soft to land on if they lose their grip on the climbing bars (obor bars?) and keep those little sticky bandages we sent on standby. (They should be in the flat, white box. The one with the red cross on it.)
  
• Please warn them BEFORE you feed them bugs. Unless it’s what you got, then definitely don’t.
  
• Don’t worry, teeth baring isn’t a sign that you screwed up somehow (usually). It’s called a grin, and it’s an expression of happiness or pleasure. However, you might want to tell them that’s not how it works for obors before you introduced them to one.
  

We appreciate your enthusiasm. Just remember; these are kids, not pets. Please treat them no differently than you would your own
RESKETS:

• Not to disparage your native customs, but … um… vomiting half digested food into an infants mouths is not something humans do. Please stop. [LINK to baby food ordering Website]
  
• I’ve heard that some of you have taken to ‘incubating’ our littler ones. Heh. That’s fine. It’s actually really cute. Just keep in mind that when you sit on them like that, it LOOKs like you’re squishing them, so try not to scare visiting social workers, aright?
  
• “Birdy-back” rides are ok. Just be sure they wear a helmet.
  
• We know somewhat about how disputes are settled on Tanet and about their traditional roll in custody rights, and we just need to make double certain that entrusted guardians will NOT be giving our kids away to any unregistered resket they lose a duel to.
  
• Current and prospective guardians: please remember that by council decree, surrogate human children are not to be engaged in any arranged marriages, nor may they be denied their choice of spouse when they come of (human) marrying age. We respect the importance of family honor and legacy, but if you wish to honor THEM, please put their free agency and pursuit of happiness first. LOVE THEM, but let them go.
  

JASLIPS:

• I might invest in elevated, biped furniture. A floor bound jasplin bed is probably doable enough, so long as your kid can stretch out on it. But at least get them a chair and desk so they can keep their spine straight while they do their homework.
  
• You may have discovered that human “snouts” are too flat to eat directly from a bowl or flat surface, and our teeth aren’t great for cutting meat, either. Be sure your kids have forks and spoons to lift messy food to their mouthes, and knives to cut up meat with. Also, jaslip food bowls WILL make for adequate vessels in a pinch, but to drink, they’re gonna need something more wieldy than a floor bound dish with a wide base. Cups, preferably.
  
• Jaslip in the colder regions, the Council will cover the cost of installing showers into your homes. Until those get finished, we’ll send the kids some sponges. Sorry for the lack of foresight there.
  
• Since some of you asked if it’s normal for humans to “taste salty”, I’m guessing that you’ve been tongue grooming the kids. I suppose that’s harmless enough, but still, PHRASING. And to answer your question: yes.
  
• remember that fresh meat needs to be cooked to the proper temp or they could get sick, that’s really important. Here’s a link to a guide you can stick in your kitchen, but if you don’t have a stove, we can send you a microwave and some microwave meals. Just stick to those.
  
• Be careful when rough-housing with the kids. They don’t have fur, so a careless play-bite could more easily cut or bruise them.
  
• For folks in colder parts, [65°F] is the lowest comfortable temperature for humans. I’m sure I’d don’t have to say it, but be sure the kids have a working space heaters in their rooms, warm clothes, and blankets. Make sure they’re bundled up when they go out to play and have them come back in after an hour to change into dry clothes and warm up.
  

As a side note: you guys have made a bigger difference than you realize. Compatible accommodation has been a hiccup, sure, but your patience, sensitivity to their feelings, and understanding of their situation has made you an immense healing factor in those kids lives. We thank you for stepping up and giving your all for them, especially after you’ve already lost so much.
Also, we just can’t get over the cuddle pics. SEND MORE!
TROMBIL: * thank you for asking first, fellas; No. You may not turn our baby’s into cyborgs.
ULCHIDS:

• Give them a week or two to process things before you throw them into family fun night, please. They’ll have a lot of emotional baggage to unpack before they’re ready to engage in large, exciting social gathering with another species.
  
• We appreciate your good intentions, but please let us send them swim coaches with the same number of limbs. Thank you.
  

SMIGLIS:

• We don’t mind if they’re roughing it out in the mud but make sure they get washed up before they have meals or go to bed. Seriously, they could get sick.
  
• We don’t have proof that greasing up a slip-n-slide with your own slimy mucus is bad for the kids health, but it’s still freaking gross! Yes, yes, I’m sure the boy revel in it, but…, look, if you’re not gonna listen, at least don’t let them EAT the stuff, aright? Please?
  

Again, thank you all for your help. If you have any question or concerns about caring for your human children, please contact us at telluschildservices@ark5.org or on our website at cww.telluschildservices.org.

So, let's say I meet my protein intake, and I'm within my calorie deficit, and I try to make time for exercise.
Is there a harm in having a serving or two of chips as like a daily snack?
I always hear that when you're on a calorie deficit you wanna make it enjoyable such as having a chocolate for dessert, but for me I don't really have a sweet tooth, more so savory. I also used to buy an entire bags of chips and just binge but recently I've been trying to instead just stick with two servings per day.

I don’t know if this is technically considered cooking, but I can’t make a decent smoothie to save my life. I’ve had one on repeat, which is a frozen banana, milk, sunflower seed, butter, oats, and vanilla. It’s not super sweet, and it tastes like a chocolate chip cookie. sometimes I’ll even put dark chocolate chips in it. But I need to branch out and get other kinds of produce in my smoothies and would love if anyone shared their favorites.

I’m not an avid baker but I do bake every now and then as a hobby and I’m looking for help regarding some chocolate chip cookies I made the other day as they did not meet my expectations and I’m wondering what to do in the future to improve! As far as texture goes they were kind of dense rather than soft and chewy which is how I prefer my chocolate chip cookies. They honestly had a similar texture to sugar cookies. As for shape they’re really thick? I rolled them into balls before putting them into the oven and they hardly deterred from that shape. Also the colouration seems kind of off to me. There’s almost like a gradient from top to bottom and while I can’t detect any difference between the lighter and darker parts it just seems strange. Oh also my chocolate chips didn’t melt whatsoever. I’m not sure if it has to do with the type of chocolate or if they’re just so stale they didn’t melt but if anyone knows what’s up with that please share!
Sorry if any of these questions are dumb, honestly I just follow the recipes to the best of my abilities and hope it works, I’m not actually 100% sure what half of the ingredients do or any of the science behind baking, I just like being able to make a sweet snack whenever I want

Title says it all, my friend likes desserts with chocolate chips but I always default to cookies and I want to switch things up. Right now all I can think of is a chocolate chip pound cake but I'm looking for some more ideas. Thanks in advance!

Hello (39F)! I’ve been on ozempic for weight loss for 9 weeks. I start 1mg tomorrow. I’ve lost 15 pounds, but I am noticing that the food noise starts to come back on the day before my next injection. Right now I so badly want to grab the bag of chocolate chips in my cabinet and start snacking.
I’m trying to increase my movement by taking walks in the evening. Last night I went on a walk with my mom, and because I didn’t eat a huge dinner she actually asked me if the point of my injections is so I can more easily starve myself. I make sure I eat enough. I get enough calories, I just eat smaller meals.
How do you handle the family members who think this is an unhealthy way to lose weight? My husband is on board because he’s seen me struggle with weight loss for our entire marriage. We have 4 kids, I’m 5’2 and started at 198. I’m down to 183. I eat at every meal time. I have healthy snacks. I don’t feel like I’m starving myself.

I was making a malted milk chocolate chip cookie recipe. They came out very thin almost falling apart. I’ve been trying to weigh my ingredients. I noticed something odd I spooned out flour with a 1 cup measuring cup but the weight in grams wasn’t right it was way too low. So I’m thinking the cookies were thin because the amount of flour wasn’t right.
Any idea why the flour in grams didn’t line up?

I found these at Kroger. I can't wait to get home and dig in.