Wild have home ice!

The Minnesota Wild have home ice advantage. The team is likely playing its first game on Monday.

I am waiting for the official NHL schedule. It means that I am either flying out on Sunday or on game day Monday to the Twin Cities.

I'm excited to see my first couple of Wild playoff games. The downside is getting my travel plans together. I can't until I see the schedule. There are two other games that are ongoing right now.

Waiting is such a pain sometimes!

Snow doesn't seem as much as predicted

The snowfall so far hasn't been huge. We had our first wave last night. The second wave is happening now.

I just realized that I have a drive-thru event later on this evening. Here's hoping that the snowfall isn't that bad as what's being predicted.

I went out briefly yesterday to fetch something from my car. It was a mix of ice and snow on my windshield.

Busy event and perks week

This week is shaping up to be a busy, exciting one full of events and perks. Later on today, I'm going to Beyond Monet. It's an immersive experience held a day before its official opening day. I am heading downtown, so it'll be interesting. I haven't been in this particular part of the downtown core in a decade!

I am currently planning my weekend. I'm getting free ice cream and beer in two different cities. I hope to hit a rib festival midway between these two cities. I will be doing lots of driving!

Saturday outing with a friend

On Saturday, I met up with a good friend for ice cream, a stroll along the main street in a small town, and a late lunch. It was a great day!

I normally come to this town for ice cream. It was nice spending several hours here with great company. 

We ate indoors. It was a great call. Moments later, a thunderstorm rolled into the area. Rain was coming down sideways. Wow!

My intern's farewell lunch

My intern's original work term was for eight months. Luckily, it got extended and we had him for an additional four months.

My role changed just after his extension had been set. He ended up with another team lead. However, our work still crossed paths and we still managed to communicate with each other regularly.

Back in April, when we thought that it was the end of his work term, I said that we'd have a proper farewell lunch for him when it was safe to do it. We were 1.5 months into the pandemic.

Well, his final day was Friday. I wanted a farewell lunch for him. So did our manager. I talked with our boss. He was good having just the three of us have lunch together. It would be safer with a small number of people there.

I had suggested a restaurant and my intern was game. He was delighted to get a free lunch, paid by our manager, to honour his efforts and accomplishments during his stay with us.

On Friday, I picked up my intern at his home and drove us over to the restaurant. It felt like old times, except that he was in the backseat of my car as I drove. Our manager met us there, as he had to pick up the gift that the company had for my intern.

At his home, I gave my intern a box of gourmet cookies. We love them. The store happens to be in my neighbourhood. He was thrilled.

We sat out in the patio for nearly 2.5 hours. The food was yummy and amazing. We had a lot of laughs while we chatted about a ton of topics.

Afterwards, we walked over to Baskin Robbins to get some ice cream. I was too full from my lunch to have some, but the other two got some.

When we were all done, my intern and I decided to get bubble tea. I treated him to whatever drink he wanted. We sat for a bit to chat before I took him home.

It was a lovely day. I know that I'll see him again, as we have plenty of eateries to discover. I let him know that whenever he was free, to let me know. He confirmed that he would take me up on my offer. He has one last year of undergraduate studies, which start in just over a week.

Virtual meeting with real drinks

Last night, I attended a virtual meeting where we got to drink beverages and chat from the comfort of our own home. There was a nice woman who showed us how to make two cocktails. I loved it all.

On Wednesday, I went to the bar that this woman owns and got my cocktail mix that was pre-made. I haven't had pineapple juice and coconut cream in a drink in ages! It was recommended to add some rum, which I love. However, it tasted so go the way it was that I didn't even bother with the booze.

I have an ice cube tray where I made ice shaped as pineapples. It was incredibly fitting.

It was a fun hour chatting with new people. Now, I'm dreaming of this drink.

Skidding on black ice is scary

On Tuesday, I worked from home for a second day. I had to go out and run a couple of errands, including the grocery store.

Coming home, I saw two accidents. What was scary was that I was driving along black ice and thought that I would end up hitting the car in front of me. It was scary. I stopped in time, thankfully.

Later on today, I am getting my winter tires installed on my car. I have had this appointment for a week. I'll feel at ease once my winter tires are on my vehicle.

Last summer feel when it's practically autumn

Saturday felt like a warm summer day. I took advantage of the day by heading over to a park in Port Perry and getting ice cream.

Last weekend, I was doing work. This weekend, I am focusing on relaxing and unwinding. It's quite the contrast.

It's nice that I am cooking more these days. On Saturday, I made myself breakfast, consisting of an omelette, bacon, and perogies. On Friday, I got a new container for my Vitamix where I can whip up mousse and more. I need to find a recipe and give it a try.

Day off from work on Thursday and finding cheap eats

I had Thursday off from work. We had a summer work event. It was nice to kick back and have fun.

After this event, I found a small restaurant that has prices from the 60's. As an example, I had an orange ice cream float for $2. Insane!

I should go to bed. I was so tired after being out for the day that I took a fifteen-minute nap.

Dreamsicle dipped cone

I am a latecomer visiting Dairy Queen. I have visited this place twice in two days, which happens to be more times than the decade before this year.

I recently found out that DQ has a dreamsicle dipped cone. It is essentially vanilla soft serve that is dipped in orange goodness and handed to you on a cone. I love orange creamsicles, so this treat is the next best thing.

My local DQ is open till 23:00 every night. The hours of operation are deadly! I got home from a late dinner, felt like getting a small cone, and dropped by twenty minutes before closing. I am such a nutcase, but I loved my dreamsicle dipped cone.

My guy's birthday and bingsu

It's my guy's birthday! He tends to work so hard on his special day that I need to remind him that it's actually his birthday.

He makes me happy. I love him to bits. Here's hoping that he has a great day.

Things are busy with me, but I'm good. I just came back from having bingsu (shaved ice with fruit and ice cream) for the first time. It was yummy and surprisingly not overly sweet.

Dollar Tree and rope

My guy loves Dollar Tree. I do, too. You can get practically everything there.

I found one fairly close by our hotel. We went over there after dinner. It even has a frozen foods section, including ice cream and breakfast items.

We walked by the hardware section. There was rope.

"You could use it to tie me up," I said to him quietly.
"Good idea," he said, grabbing a neat bundle.

Later on in the store, he discretely groped my buttock.

"Now, I'm all horny," he said.
"I know," I said to him.

Yes, thinking about the possibilities of using rope on me are nice.

Aspiring to be Clint Eastwood

When we were in our early stages of dating, my guy revealed that he always wanted to be a manly, macho man growing up, like Clint Eastwood. Although he is manly, he has a gentle, boyish side. I first noted it when he was driving to Montreal and stopped to get ice cream.

"I know you don't like your boyish side, but I do. It compliments your manly side," I said to him while we were eating lunch.
"I loved Clint Eastwood as a boy. I wanted to be like him," he admitted.
"I know. But, you are you. You should embrace who you are. I do," I said.
"You're sweet. I wanted to say, 'Go ahead. Make my day,' like he did," he said.
"If you said, 'Make my day,' I would tell you to make your own day. Why do I have to do all the hard work?" I said rhetorically.

He laughed. I love him just the way he is, without the Clint Eastwood split personality.

Electric and sporty cars

On Tuesday, I had to take an early morning teleconference, so I worked from home for most of the morning. I then left to pick up my guy at work for lunch.

I got there and waited. I didn't see my guy at all. I decided to text him when he was running twenty minutes late. He apologized and said that he would be downstairs soon.

While I was waiting in the parking lot, I noticed that there was a nervous guy in a Hyundai Ioniq car. He kept looking at the two cars that were parked in the charging spots. He took a look at the meters, took photos, texted on his phone, and more. 

He then moved his car in front of both cars. He went inside the office and came back out. He then moved his car.

I then saw my former boss with a colleague get into his Volvo electric car and pull out. I thought that perhaps the nervous guy was running out of juice and needed to charge his car. Nope, he pulled into the upstairs parking lot. Huh?

I was exhausted analyzing the whole situation. I went into the office to use the women's washroom for a change of scenery.

I walked over to my car. My guy was following suit.

"I'm so sorry," he said again.
"It's okay," I replied, as we both got into my car.
"Everything went wrong with the software, so I was trying to fix it," he noted.
"It's okay. You expect imperfections when you teach a new course," I said, squeezing his hand.
"I know," he said, smiling at me.

I drove us over to our Chinese restaurant. The ice storm did quite a number on it. The restaurant was still closed. We went back to the Afghani restaurant for lunch. Once again, I got salad dressing with dairy on my salad when I said that I didn't want it. Ugh!

It was a nice lunch chatting. My guy showed me a purple sportscar that he likes.

"Hey, it's purple," I noted.
"It is. I like it," he admitted.
"I like it, too. If you get it, you'll have to let me drive it. You'd be in my good books," I teased.
"We'll see," he said.
"That's a positive sign. Normally, you give me a firm no. I didn't get that. You're making progress!" I exclaimed.
"Maybe. We'll see," he smiled.

I enjoy teasing him about having me drive his car, even though he doesn't have this purple one. He knows it, too.

Polite, sweet guy

On Monday, my guy and I went out for lunch. The roads were in pretty good condition. However, the plaza had a ton of slush and ice.

My guy parked and noticed that there were puddles everywhere. He insisted on driving me to the front door of the restaurant. It was a sweet, kind gesture.

I waited for him to park and walk over to the Chinese restaurant. We he got there, I tugged on the right door. It was locked. I tried the left one. Same thing. I then looked at the sign that was taped to the glass. The restaurant was closed due to flooding from the ice storm. Oh, no!

Luckily, this plaza has a number of eateries. We tried an Afghani restaurant. I have been there a number of times, but he hadn't.

The pavement was slippery. My guy immediately reached for my hand as we walked over. I love that he always wants to make sure that I am okay.

We walked in and ordered. He got the beef kofta with salad and a pita. I went with the grilled chicken skewer with rice, salad, and a pita. I asked that the salad dressing be held.

We found a booth and sat down. We chatted until our number was called, which was 13. It finally was and we both got our food.

Sadly, I had salad dressing on my salad. The dressing has dairy and I am borderline lactose-intolerant.

My guy was not thrilled. He took my tray of food back and asked for a dressing-free salad. He is truly my knight in shining armour. He came back with a new plate of non-dairy food. I was a happy camper.

It was a good lunch. He liked the food, so we now have two places to have lunch at.

After we were done, my guy decided to fetch his car and had me wait outside. He was exceptionally sweet and I told him so.

"I would do anything for you. It's easy," he admitted.
"I love when you are so naturally sweet," I pointed out.
"You're an attractive woman. You deserve being treated well," he said, being mushy.

I love him. I reached for his hand and held it lovingly as he drove us back to the office.

Typos are goo... um, good

Over the weekend, much of the southern part of Ontario was blasted with an ice storm. For two days, I stayed at home. It was nice to be a homebody. However, I was pleased to go outside on Monday.

It took me thirty minutes to chisel the ice and snow off my car. I normally take a conference call on my way to work. As luck would have it, the meeting organizer had technical difficulties on his end.

My driveway was slippery. It was a sheet of ice. I actually had hot water in a flask and poured it over my car trunk to open it. I had both my laptop and ice scraper in there.

Surprisingly, I got to work ten minutes later than normal. The drive was fine. Most people decided to stay home. My guy and I were motivated to get to work. After all, we had a lunch date.

My guy (MG) texted me during his break.

MG: Hi
Me: Hey. How was your drive in?
MG: It was fun... NOT!
Me: I hear you. It took me thirty minutes to scrape off the ice and snow off my car. I got my workout.
MG: =)
MG: Does lunch at noon work for you?
Me: Yes, I'm good with noon
MG: That's goo
MG: Good
Me: I look goo
Me: look = like
Me: See, I've got goo on my mind
MG: =)
MG: So, noon, right?
Me: Yep, as mentioned
MG: Good
Me: You mean goo
MG: =) I gotta go. See you in a bit
Me: Have the rest of a goo day!
MG: =)
Me: =)

It's fun how when one person makes a typo, it goes downhill. Yet, we can still have fun with it.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold in ice skating for a second time!

I am hooked on watching the winter Olympics. I just watched Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir skate to win gold. I am so proud of them! They are the most decorated skaters in Olympic history.

Wow! That's all I can say.

Klutzy start of 2018 - completed trifecta

I don't know whether there is something in the air or if the additional snow this winter has made me more klutzy than usual. Things happen in threes. I can attest to this odd energy.

A couple of weeks ago, I left my home to head into my car to drive to work. There was black ice. I didn't see it and wiped out. Luckily, nothing happened other than being a bit sore for a couple of days.

Last week, I had a full mug of tea. I had a lid covering my double-walled mug. I accidentally elbowed it in a meeting room at work. My mug went tumbling onto the carpeted floor. I got some paper towel to clean up the spill on the boardroom table and a chair.

Today was the final piece of this trifecta. I went to a seller's home to pick up a paper shredder. I parked in his driveway and went up the stairs to ring the doorbell.

What I didn't know was that underneath the unshovelled snow in front of his door was marble. I lost my balance and fell on my right knee.

First, I would recommend getting a mat if you have a slippery surface like marble that is outside. Second, I'd suggest shovelling the snow so that folks don't slip and fall. Third, if you have a home, having a stair railing to get up and down the stairs comes in handy.

So, I have a couple of bruises on my right knee. It's a bit sore to walk, but I'm okay. I am icing my knee to reduce the swelling. I am also elevating my leg.

The other injury is a sore middle finger on my left hand. It's a bit sore typing right now. I am perfectly fine flipping the bird. Making a fist can still be done, but it is a bit sore.

What an odd day! The good news is that I was fine picking up my paper shredder, which works fine. I also got some dinner afterwards, which made things a ton better.

I'm working from home on Friday. It's supposed to snow and I don't want to drive with my sore knee. I will simply take it easy.

Merry Christmas!

Hello, everyone! I have been away from blogging these days, mainly because I just took a week of vacation. I went to London for the first time and had a fabulous time.

I'd like to wish everyone a merry Christmas (or a happy Christmas, as I learned while in London). Thanks for your constant support and encouragement. It means a lot!

My guy and I have been chatting practically daily since he went away on business. We both arrived home last Saturday, but at different times. Awaiting us was an ice storm!

Stay safe and healthy! I have some blogging to do. Hopefully, I can squeeze that in before the holidays are over.