End of my vacation and a Starbucks birthday memory

In a few hours, I head back to work. I am working from home till the end of this year.

This staycation has been nice. I have enjoyed being stress-free for over a week. I am relaxed. I am sad to see my vacation end, but it eventually had to.

I will share a nice memory of this vacation. At Starbucks, if you are a part of the rewards program, you get a free beverage or food item on your birthday.

I visit my local Starbucks often, which is roughly twice a week during this pandemic. I am and have been a regular customer for several years.

On my birthday, when I went to pick up my beverage, the barista over the drive-thru speaker wished me a happy birthday. I returned the following day and two baristas wished me a belated birthday.

It was such a sweet gesture. They made me feel special. 

Positivity snacks and a jerk who got what he deserved

Some places in the States do not ship to Canada. Recently, I contributed my thoughts about positivity on a company's Instagram account. This company ended up sending me a huge box of snacks as a gift. It was an extremely generous gesture.

Sadly, this place doesn't ship to Canada. However, I have a way to have items shipped up here through a shipping service.

There is one person at this shipping place who has been a pain to deal with. The first time I dealt with him, he asked for my ID. I was fine and asked if I needed to present it all the time, as none of the other staff members had asked me for it. He said no and that it was a one-time thing.

I dropped by a month later and he asked for ID. I reminded him that last time, he said it was a one-time thing. He made up a reason on-the-fly by saying that he will stop asking until he knows me. Um, I have been dealing with your business for four years. I'm a regular. You happen to be new and are making rules up as you go.

The third time I had to deal with him, he stopped asking me for my ID. Yay! The jerk, however, said my last name wrong. It's not a difficult last name or word to pronounce. I happily corrected him, staring sternly at hime. He actually apologized for a change.

On Saturday, I went in to pick up my box of snacks. This jerk was dealing with another customer who was yelling at him and dropped the f-word several times. I grinned. What goes around, comes around.

Luckily, I dealt with his female counterpart who was respectful and nice. She recognized me as a regular. I got my shipment, said thanks, wished her a good day, and left.

It helps to be kind to folks. If you're a jerk, there will be consequences to your attitude and behaviour.

Short weekends and accurate menstrual cycles

Weekends are not long enough. This one went by incredibly quickly.

When I first went on a low-carb diet and lost at least thirty pounds several years ago, my menstrual cycle became regular. Since my first period, each one after that was irregular. I could go for months or even a year before my next one.

Since losing a grand total of sixty pounds, my period has been monthly, with the occasional missed month each year.

Recently, I went back to being on a tighter low-carb diet. Sure enough, my period is even more accurate. It's every thirty days instead of a month, plus or minus a week. I find it interesting that my hormones are more balanced.

Here's to more observations as I continue being on my low-carb regimen.

Periods - noting details and scheduling sex

It's that time of the month. Both my guy and I were thankful that we had so much fun last week! This week is obviously a bit of a breather.

When I first got my menstrual cycle, I was twelve years old. I noticed within the first couple of years that it was abnormal. You're supposed to have one each month. Mine were unpredictable. For the first ten years, I could go a year without one, give or take a few months.

I recall going to my doctor. I had my thyroid checked. It was fine. I got hormone pills that helped start my period.

My periods were heavy. They lasted six to seven days.

When it came to sex, it was nice that I didn't have regular periods. I could engage in sex often. I am not sure if my lack of a normal menstrual cycle ended up heightening my sex drive.

Roughly five years ago, I lost sixty pounds. To this day, I am proud of this achievement. I have been able to maintain it ever since.

What came with this weight loss was a regular menstrual cycle. These days, I can accurately predict when it is going to happen, unless I am stressed that it gets missed. I also missed my period for a month after I had back surgery.

I didn't do my regular exercise regimen last weekend for a couple of days. Whenever I skip exercising, my cramping is the worst. Yesterday, my cramps were bad. Luckily, ibuprofen works for me.

The other thing that tips me off that my period is about to happen is a dull ache in my lower back. Yesterday, it was pretty bad. Again, ibuprofen seems to help here, too.

The good news is that my cramping and lower back ache last for roughly 24 hours. I will be fine when I wake up on Friday.

Oh, and my periods these days aren't as heavy as they used to be. They also last for five days, at most.

It's amazing how hormones and my body work. I asked my doctor and she said that my weight loss ended up balancing my hormones.

My guy is sweet. He finds that I don't go into an I-hate-the-world type of mentality when my period hits. Rather, I seem more at peace. It's a bit strange, but he's correct.

He always asks whether it's okay to spank me when I am on my period. I am fine with it once my cramping goes away. I also insist of being spanked over my pants or whatever I am wearing.

Technically, it's not really a quiet week when I have my period. Spankings continue. We just take a break when it comes to sexual intercourse. I also like focusing on him by giving him a handjob or blowjob, depending on what he would like.

It's all good.