Happy 2026! Thoughts and dry eye

Happy 2026! I hope that your year has started off well.

Where I am, we had a record snowstorm on Sunday. Toronto Pearson International Airport got 46 cm of snow. Those closest to Lake Ontario got 60 cm, including my old neighbourhood of the Beaches.

I live in the suburbs. I got a lot of snow. I don't think it was 60 cm. It was a lot.

Last year wasn't the best. I ended up with a stomach ulcer, which required some medication, yogurt, probiotics, and Gravol. The medication made me gag, which explains the Gravol. Since then, I do feel like I gag more when I see something that triggers that feeling.

Weird.

I keep on saying that I have a lot to say. I truly do. I have a lot to post about my mom's recovery from her broken arm and my difficult relationship with my dad.

I will start off with December and work my way backwards in 2025.

I get my eyes examined every two years in December. Earlier in the year, I noticed that my eyes were getting dry wearing contacts. My eyes felt gritty and I'd often take my contact lenses out.

For most of 2025, I wore my glasses instead. My eyeballs felt better. I'd be putting in eye drops whenever I needed them.

My eye doctor said that my eyes were in great shape and that my prescription hadn't changed. She did notice that the pores were clogged under my eyelids by natural oils. It explains my dry eye.

She recommended putting warm compresses over my eyelids to melt the oils. I did that by heating up a mask in the microwave. It felt great over my eyelids, but the heat would die down after ten minutes.

I bought a plug-in eye mask instead for more consistent heat. I use it every day over my eyelids for twenty minutes. It's me time. I like how relaxing the heat is.

I feel that this eye mask procedure has helped. I wore contacts lenses for the first time in months last week. I had them on for three hours. They were comfortable. I didn't feel any grit. 

I haven't tried wearing them to work. Baby steps. I'll probably wear them this Saturday when I run errands for a few hours and see how I feel.

I still use eye drops. I lubricate my eyeballs twice a day. It has been easy. I have eye drops in the washroom. I remember applying them after washing my face in the morning.

Just before bed, I apply eye drops before I fall asleep.

Time to use my eye mask. I'll try writing another post before January is over. I need to ease into writing more regularly again.

Weekend thoughts and humidity

Weekends come and go so quickly.

I spent Sunday writing, cooking, and relaxing. It was nice.

The only downside is that I feel like I am overheating at home. With two fans on, it's humid on the top floor of my home. Absolutely no breeze came in when I opened all windows.

Ugh.

Here's hoping that I can sleep better tonight.

Heat warning this weekend

We've got a heat warning this weekend. We've got temperatures over 30°C, accompanied by humidity. Lovely!

I have a few pickups to do later on today. I'm excited, but will also need to stay cool and hydrated.

It's weird how a week ago, it snowed. It now feels like the middle of summer.

Happy weekend, everyone!

At the office on a Saturday... it isn't the norm

I had to do some work on Saturday. Normally, I try not to take my work home. However, this work requires that no one is actually in our authoring system for me to copy a number of files over.

I woke up this morning and it was sort of cold. The electricity was out. I couldn't tell you how long I was without it. Considering that it has been colder than the norm this week temperature-wise, I decided to drive into work. The office has backup power in case we have a full-blown power outage.

To my surprise, I bumped into a handful of people. I wasn't expecting that!

In the lobby, I said hi to a manager. I used to work closely with him. He's probably 6'6" in height.

Four hours later, I met a software developer who is probably four months pregnant. She asked me what I was doing at work. I responded and then asked her.

"The usual," he replied.
"What do you mean the usual? Our being here is not normal!" I exclaimed.

It was a good laugh. It's nice to bump into someone whom you don't work with that closely these days.

Finally, we have a new department head. I doubt that she knows who I am, but I said hi to her on my way back to fetch my stuff and go.

Thank goodness I have a week of work to go before I am on vacation.

Using a heat and back massager after being spanking, and missing each other

My guy is in Dubai for the next couple of weeks. We have been chatting on Skype these days.

For my birthday, he bought me a back massager for the car. It heats the lower back and butt areas. Only the lower back gets a massage.

"I haven't tried out your great gift yet. My back hasn't been achy thankfully. My butt isn't sore for your punishing me, either" I replied.
"I'm glad that you like it," he said.
"I have been a good girl, so I won't be using it for a while."
"No, you're a naughty, naughty girl. When I am around, I will definitely spank you and have you try out your present."

My guy told me that he missed me so much. He even said that I could drive his manual car under close supervision.

"You can trust me. I should have offered valet service before you left," I teased.
"I will let you drive my car when I am with you," he replied.
"Wow, are you sure that you're feeling okay?" I asked him.
"Yes. I would let you do anything. You're my sweetie."

And, he's my sweetie, too.

Belated, thoughtful birthday gifts

I returned home early Monday evening. The longer weekend was nice, but I feel like I need another vacation!

Last week, my guy got me some nice birthday gifts. He felt bad that he was late. I understood, as he is a traveller. It was still the same birthday month.

He normally asks me for a list of gifts that I'd like. He can then choose from that list. He doesn't need me to provide him with this list, but I do for suggestions.

He got me the following:

• A Beemo mug, a character from Adventure Time that I like
• A waffle maker, because I love to eat waffles

My guy surprised me by getting a gift that wasn't on my list, but I had mentioned a need for it in the past.

I got a new car earlier this year. It does not have heated seats. It's not a huge deal. However, when I have a sore back, it was always helpful to turn the heat on my seat, which would ease the pain.

My guy remembered my comment. He got me a plug-in heated seat in which the seat and back support both heat up. It plugs in to the car charger. I was thrilled.

"See, I told you that you're a great gift giver," I complimented him.
"Thanks, sweetie," he replied.

He's thoughtful and sweet.

Being a helpful support person and wanting to be a good girl

My guy is like a sweet little boy sometimes. I just want to cuddle and kiss him, but he is still away on business.

He called me at nearly 05:00 his time. I asked whether he had come back from clubbing. He laughed.

He told me that his back is aching. We both have a history of it. He told me that he was going to take it easy.

I asked him whether he still travelled with his electric heating pad. He looked in his suitcase and it was there. I told him to plug it in and rest his back on it.

Then, he had problems connecting to the hotel wifi with his new tablet. I told him to open a browser and go to a Web page other than Google. Sure enough, the hotel page appeared, asking him to enter his special access code.

Finally, he let me know that he has changed banks and needs to update his bank account information to get paid. I told him that he can change all that information on our company's intranet site.

"What would you do without me?" I asked him.
"I don't know. I would be lost, for sure," he admitted.
"I should charge you for this support call," I joked.
"I can pay you in kisses," he hinted.
"I'd like that. It also shows that you are still my Cheap Bastard."

We then had another chat moments later.

"See, I am a good girl for helping you out," I pointed out.
"You're a useful girl, but never a good girl," he reasoned.
"You'll always be my Mr. Meanie," I told him.
"Yes, I like being your Mr. Meanie," he admitted.

Here's hoping that his back feels better soon.

Warm and cool

My guy is in Cairo again this week, which is unseasonably cold. Temperatures there are not much different than in Toronto.

He told me the other day that he had to buy two space heaters to keep him warm, as there is no heating where he is staying.

"I wish that I was with you to warm you up," I said.
"You are like a furnace," he commented.

I am warm-blooded. Whenever my guy has cold hands, I hold his in mine until they warm up.

I envy him in the summertime. I don't do well in heat and humidity. I end up sweating buckets and hibernating in any place that has air conditioning. He, on the other hand, is perfectly cool under such conditions. Sometimes, he ends up wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt and I marvel at how he can stay comfortable in it.

We are different. Yet, we balance each other out in many ways.