"I've never really been an artist, and any kind of painting that I've needed done in my house or my business… well, that's what painters are for," he admitted with a laugh and a shrug of both of his shoulders. Rafael was whip smart, cunning, a problem solver. But the problem was not how to put paint on the wall. Or if it was, the solution was to hire a professional. "That's definitely a plus. Everything gets covered in dirt or vines or there are flowers blooming over it so they won't be able to tell if I absolutely mess it up… right?" he grinned, reaching to pick up one of the nearby paintbrushes and a can of paint. "So let's get messy."

Amber nodded, completely understanding what he was getting at - she did feel much the same when it came to painting a lot at home. If it was a small room or a single wall, she'd give it a go, but when it came to bigger projects? No way in hell was that happening. "I get that," she laughed softly and shrugged her shoulders. As he continued, though, she found herself wrinkling her nose for the briefest of moments. "Well, I can't say they wouldn't be able to tell completely," she chuckled. £So let's at least try..." She was only teasing and she did respect his enthusiasm.

"In which case, me too," after all, if someone in Amber's field could ignore those kinds of things, Ashleigh felt a little more comfortable doing it herself. "No, you're right. It's cute for a second, and then it's good food, and the good food makes up for the cute face." And even foods that weren't adorable tasted good -- were they supposed to skip those? Ashleigh certainly didn't think so. "Churros sound like a delightful choice, should we make it our mission to find some? I think you're right about the smell, I kept getting whiffs of cinnamon earlier!"

"Okay, good!" said Amber with a bright smile directed toward the other woman. "Today is not a day for behaving." She was going to stick to that as well, there seemed to be ( on first glance ) too many yummy things available. "Honestly, the good food and the cute face make a fantastic combination." She laughed, starting in the direction of the food stalls with Leigh. "We should definitely make it our mission, I don't think I can make it through the day without them."

Mariah smiled and nodded. She knew that her business was a little niche, but she still wanted people to keep her in mind if they ever had need for her services or if they had friends and family who would have need for her services. "Thank you in advance for that." she nodded. "Your rock is looking really nice. What design are you doing?"

"No problem at all," Amber responded with a smile. "I'm going to keep hold of your card in case I hear of anyone needing your business for anything." It was the least that she could do really, especially considering how kind the other woman seemed to be —- she always wanted a local business to succeed. "Oh, thank you... it's just. Well, it's supposed to be mountains. We'll see when I'm done." She chuckled.

"Nutritional guides," she said with a snorting laugh, because she really wasn't so sure that she believed in what they said. It seemed like they were just joy killers that wanted people to be unhappy, but with a piece of broccoli in their mouth. Who needed that? (No offense, broccoli.) "I' kind of thinking of one of those donuts. They're really cute, which then almost makes me not want to eat them -- but key word is almost, 'cuz they look so good, too," she grinned, then looked at her new companion. "What about you? Do you have any suggestions or recommendations so far?"

"Oh. Well. I always ignore those," said Amber with a shake of her head, a laugh slipping from within her. Life was too short to worry about those kinds of things if you were healthy within yourself anyway, all you needed to do was to keep an eye on things, treats never hurt. "I could do doughnuts," she answered with a nod. "There's no such thing as too cute to eat when it comes to food. And I'm thinking churros, I'm sure I smelt some around here somewhere."

Closed for: @amberstevenson

It was a day for new experiences ( or something like that ) and Amber had perched herself at one of the stalls after watching other people for a while. Painting rocks might not have been something usual for her, but it was something to do, and she did like to think of herself as quite artistic when she set her mind to it. When she was approached, she glanced up and offered the other woman a smile. "Oh, I guess we'll see," she answered. She didn't mean it in a bad way, but she didn't really have much use for what the business supplied at this moment in time. "Maybe one day in the future."

WHO: ashleigh & @amberstevenson

"Who says you should start with something proper?" Amber asked with a shake of her head and a laugh, and that coming from a medical professional. She'd never been one to follow rules, though, and why should you when you were out enjoying an event? She certainly hadn't followed any rules as yet, and she didn't plan to either. No, today was definitely for enjoying herself, and that was exactly what she planned to do. "What are you leaning towards?" she asked, stepping closer to one of the stalls.

"Well, I'm not going to judge you. I've been in here more times than I can count since becoming a father. It's almost a weekly occurrence at this point," JJ admitted, laughing as he pointed towards his toddler. "This little one woke me up before my alarm this morning, and I still can't quite figure out how she manages to have so much energy when half the town is still asleep."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Amber chuckled. She knew it wasn't a bad thing, not really, but when she was out there giving all the moms-to-be lectures on healthy eating, she felt she needed to make a little more effort herself. "Ah... of course, when in doubt, blame the toddler," she teased, a bemused smile crossing her features as she reached out a hand toward Mia. "Hey, sweetheart." As the waitress approached the table and JJ gave his order, she sank down to sit there for a moment, asking for a simple black coffee. She'd go and place a proper order in a few minutes when she had a chance to decide. She still didn't know whether she planned to stay or not. "Things at the hospital are crazy... as they always are," she admitted with a light shrug. "And of course I miss you; how could I not?"

A very big win! I like to think I’m good on my feet sometimes. Solid ground is much easier to walk around on than ice. But it also means going outside is really nice with this spring weather. Don’t forget about sliding doors.

It's meant to be easier, although I'm beginning to think I look like Bambi taking his first steps any time I go anywhere. It's becoming a problem. Sliding doors? Don't remind me. They might as well have a sign on warning that they'll turn you into a clutz. But how are you, more importantly? Married life still treating you well?

"I guess it's some form of bragging rights," he said with a laugh, shrugging both shoulders. Although Jason knew that a lot of people looked at bronze as third place loser, instead of winner. And by a lot of people, he meant himself as a teenager, always one to compete against anyone and everyone to try to be the best at everything that he could. "Ah, right, so what's next on the dossier, then? Are we thinking… snowboarding? Skiing? I guess there's not really a lot more outside of that for winter sports. Unless you want to go with snowmobiling."

"Definitely some sort." Amber knew that bronze obviously wasn't the best, but she'd never been able to class that as losing; you still received something, after all. You received some kind of praise, which was always nice. "Oh, I was thinking curling," she laughed. "Looks like the easiest one, I'm sure that I could pull it off."

۶ৎ   open  to  all ! spots: 4/5 where: his apartment

Having lost both of his parents far younger than they should have been, Cage had skewed his view on getting older. Had come to respect and appreciate each wrinkle, each gray hair, understand that those things were a part of who he was now, a part of him that he was grateful to have. "Good rule to live by, I think," he said with a small, warm smile. And now, he did try to live by it. He tried to be thankful for every day that he had. "Do you think you'll do anything special for it?" he asked curiously, "like throw yourself a great big birthday bash or something?" Because that was always a thought, doing something to celebrate such a big milestone. "I'll start handing out flyers at the next PTA, get all the parents involved."

"I suppose that it is," Amber responded simply, leaning forward a little more against the bar. "But I feel like we need to stop dwelling on getting older. At least for tonight. Aren't we meant to be celebrating?" She chuckled very lightly. "Even if you do want to get all the parents involved in an old man's club." Her expression was amused, but she did get it.

How have you been? I hope springtime hasn’t been much too busy for you, but still busy enough! I can’t believe that it’s already spring and then the school year is almost over.

Not busy exactly, although I swear there's always a baby boom at this time of year. So, you know, no busier than my usual spring. The year's absolutely flying by. It's crazy. I bet you're looking forward to the summer break.

Rafael's brows raised just the tiniest bit when she asked about his enthusiasm level when it came to paintbrushes, glancing to the supplies that they would be using. "Does me saying that I can't remember the last time that I picked up a paintbrush answer your question?" Which was the truth. Most of the time if Rafael needed something painted… well… it was pretty easy to just hire someone to do it for him. "But I'm willing to give it an honest try. As long as you don't scold me too badly if I do it wrong and it turns out awful," he laughed, rubbing his hands together, ready for the task at hand.

Amber's nose wrinkled a moment and she nodded. "It most definitely does," she laughed lightly. "But that's okay. I can relate." If anything, she'd gone out of her way to avoid doing any painting these last couple of years —- she just didn't have it in her apparently. "You know, I don't think there's really a wrong way to paint something, especially when it comes to something outdoors," she told him with a laugh. "You'll be fine."

“Dating apps huh?” Her brow rose. It wasn’t a bad idea. There was so much out there and she felt like all of her friends deserved to find a piece of happiness. “It wouldn’t hurt to test the waters.” She encouraged with a soft smile. “Yeah. It’s been fun.” It was something she found herself enjoying outside of cardio and work drills. “The only grippy socks I want to wear.” She commented, skating backwards a bit. “You should do it. I’ll happily join you if you want.”

"Testing the waters is about all I'll do probably," said Amber with a light shake of her head and a laugh. Honestly, she appreciated the conversation, one that had done a very good job of distracting her from the actual activity they were taking part in. "Okay, you're on..." More plans would never go amiss and, honestly, it would be nice to spend more time with the other woman outside of work setting. "We'll do it!"