Random act of kindness came in the mail

A few weeks ago, a tea company in Vancouver that I follow on Instagram did an act of random kindness. The company wanted to send me some goodies. It was so completely out of the blue!

Well, my gifts came in the mail. I got a bunch of looseleaf tea varieties. I also got some hand-carved wooden spoons to scoop the tea out of the containers. One is round and the other is heart-shaped.

This photo shows my purple jasmine tea with the heart-shaped wooden spoon:

  

It was such a thoughtful gesture. This company made my day and month.

Birthday highlights and pedal boating coming up

My birthday was wonderful. I got to meet a friend in person after establishing an online friendship for a few years.

We had lunch together at a Vietnamese restaurant. She got me a birthday gift, which was so thoughtful of her. We walked around Chinatown. She gave me tons of suggestions and recommendations on places to go and restaurants to try out. She's great.

I took in a movie. Yesterday was great. I cried at the end. I haven't cried in a while. It felt good.

I had dinner at a Thai restaurant. The green curry that I had was fantastic.

Through my friend, I signed up for pedal boating later on today. At least I'm getting a decent workout during my vacation!

Purple sunglasses

I experienced a touching, thoughtful moment at work on Thursday. I came into the office and noticed a pair of company-branded sunglasses on my desk. They were purple.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that purple is my favourite colour. Someone deliberately got me a pair of purple sunglasses. I was happy.

Later on in the day, I found out from a colleague, who is also my friend, that our boss and my student both said to our office administrator that I would like the purple pair. The sunglasses were distributed on Wednesday. I was working from home that day.

Ah, they all know me well. It may seem like a small gesture, but it meant a lot to me.

Birthday gift question

When my birthday is coming up, my guy always asks me what I'd like as a gift. I decided to try his method out on him.

My guy's birthday is in a couple of weeks. Although I have a gift in mind, I decided to ask him what gift he'd like.

"Hey, your birthday is coming up. What would you like?" I asked him.
"I like whatever gift you give me. You're good at it," he said.
"That's nice of you to say. But, is there a gift that you really want?" I asked him.
"I have everything. I have you," he said.

He's sweet. It's one reason why I'm keeping him.

Honesty about anxiety and depression at work

I had a decent talk with my newest addition to my team. One of my students and I were training her on Monday. At the end of the session, what I didn't expect was this woman sharing that she has been depressed and anxious for two years.

It hit home for me. I have been there. So has my guy.

The good news is that she is on medication, which has put her back on track. She feels good. It shows. She is funnier during our team meetings.

I was impressed that she trusted us to share what she has been going through. Add to that mix the fact that her past two team leads have said negative things about her with little justification and my manager asking her to submit weekly reports (she is the only person on our entire team doing this task) can add to that depression and anxiety.

I thanked her for sharing all this information. I told her that I'm happy that she is on my team. She seemed to be absorbing the information well. She also asked thoughtful, intelligent questions today. She has potential. It probably hasn't been noticed by others.

I'm optimistic. I let her know to leave the baggage and negative past work experiences behind her. We are working with a clean slate now. She appreciated it.

Happy Boxing Day and hieroglyphics

It's officially Boxing Day in Canada. It basically is an extra day off for most Canadians.

There will be sales happening. I will try and avoid going to stores for deals. However, I do need to get a few things at the drug store. We'll see how crazy that store gets!

My guy got me the sweetest gift from Cairo.

"I got this little gift for you," he said, handing me a small box.
"Cool," I said, opening the cobalt blue box. "Hey, it's a pendant with hieroglyphics!"
"It's your name in them," he said.
"I love it. I'll need to get a chain for it," I said.

I need to find a silver chain for this wonderful jewellery piece to dangle from it.

Teasing over the phone while driving

My guy likes when I tease him.

"I'm about two minutes from home. How about you?" he asked me over the phone.
"I'm roughly five minutes away," I said.
"That's good. Continue to drive safely," he said.
"I know why you called me. You were thinking of someone whom you could chat with during your long drive home and you chose me," I teased.
"Is that what you think?" he said, mildly outranged.
"No, you're just being your thoughtful, sweet self to see how I am. I love teasing you," I admitted.
"You're welcome to tease me all you like. I love it," he replied.

I'm glad that he does.

Evil eye bracelets and pouring rain

Before I drove my guy to the airport over a week ago, he gave me presents from Istanbul. He had asked me what I wanted from the city.

It's easier for me to think of things that I'd like, for I have been to the city before. I asked him for looseleaf tea.

When we first met, I had an evil eye bracelet. It had a dainty chain that eventually snapped. I tried to repair it, but I couldn't salvage it after a couple of tries.

I then got a replacement one. Months later, that one died, too.

Istanbul is known for all things evil eye. So, I asked my guy if he could get me an evil eye bracelet. Not only did he get me one similar in style to the ones that I once owned, he got me another one that has small evil eyes all around the bracelet. I loved them both when I saw them.

It was raining fairly hard that day. I got soaked walking from the restaurant where we had dinner over to my car.

"I'm wet right now," I said, as my shirt and hair had absorbed some of the rain.
"Of course, you are," he said with a smirk.
"I didn't mean that!" I said. "Then again, I am sitting next to you."
"You're sweet," he said, holding my hand.

We got to the airport. I gave my guy my umbrella so that he could fetch a cart for his luggage. An older gentleman saw our umbrella exchange and smiled.

My guy came back and loaded everything onto the cart. We kissed and hugged. It seems more romantic when it's raining and you're saying goodbye to a loved one for a brief period.

A couple hours later, he called me.

"Hey, is your flight delayed?" I asked him.
"Yes, but only for forty minutes," he said. "I heard that it's pouring in Toronto."
"It was quite the downpour driving home, but I'm safe," I replied.
"That's good," he said.
"You're sweet. Thanks for the evil eye bracelets. I'm wearing one of them now. I love them," I remarked.
"I'm so glad," he replied.

He's thoughtful and sweet. It was nice to hear from him before his flight took off.

Travelling home with a cleanly shaved, sexy head

It's a long weekend for me. My guy travels home today. I am hoping that his middle ear infection is gone or close to it.

He has a long flight coming back home. It'll be nice to see him again.

We had this conversation the other day:

"I can't wait to see you," I said to him.
"Likewise," he replied. "I will make sure that I have a cleanly shaved head for you to caress."

I love touching his perfectly uniform head. He likes that I love to.

Purple massage gifts from my guy

Before I drove my guy to the airport, he had a plastic bag in his hand.

"I got you some goodies. These are for you," he said.
"Thanks! What's the occasion?" I asked him.
"They were purple. I just wanted to get them for you," he said.

As of late, I have noticed a theme. For my birthday, he got me a cool massager for my neck, back, and more.

The two purple items are also massage-related. One was a finger massager, which is wonderful. The other one was a manual roller massager for your calves, thighs, and whatever else.

My guy knows that I like to unwind. He also wants to make sure that I am relaxed. He knows that purple is my favourite colour. He's thoughtful, as usual. He is also a good gift giver.

Birthday gifts and snuggles

My guy, besides taking me out to a movie and lunch, got me some wonderful birthday presents.

He bought me Turkish apple tea. I fell in love with this stuff when we were in Istanbul together. He went one step further and got me the tea in a beautiful tin. I had previously bought the tea in a box.

He also got me a massager. It's the type that you can wrap around your neck, wrists, waist, and more. It's fancy. I love it.

We spent tonight snuggling in bed and chatting. I love when we have quiet moments. It's nice.

Gift ideas, including tea and a birthday spanking

Whenever my guy travels on business, he tends to ask this question:

"What would you like me to bring back?" he asked.
"That's a good question," I replied.

It's a good thing that I have been to Istanbul before. I asked him for tea. Specifically, there is this instant apple tea that I like.

While we were having lunch, I did a quick search on my phone and found the photo. I showed him. He knew exactly what I was referring to. He also knows me well that I am a huge tea drinker.

I am less than a week away from going on vacation. I will be in my guy's neck of the woods for most of it. It's a staycation that I am looking forward to.

"What would you like for your birthday?" he asked me.
"The usual that I ask for each year. I want you and a birthday spanking," I replied.
"You already have me. I can give you a birthday spanking on your birthday this year," he smiled.
"Yay!" I said joyfully.

It's rare that we spend time on each other's birthdays. Normally, he is on the road. We have spent his birthday together once, which was special. We get to reciprocate this year.

Flight home with sweets - penises?

I'm back from my staycation. It was wonderful.

My guy called me on Friday from the airport while I was checking in to our hotel room. He has impeccable timing.

I finally got checked in and we chatted for a bit.

"I bought you sweets," he cheerfully said.
"Yay! Are they the ones that looks like penises?" I asked.
"Nope, they are different," he said.
"You're sweet for getting me sweets, sweetie," I said.

The sweets that look like penises are Egyptian delights. They have the same outer lining as Turkish delight, except that they have walnuts in them and are cylindrical. Each one is rolled in powered sugar. I affectionately call them penises.

The funny thing is that he knew what I had meant.

Thoughtful guy notes free goodies at work

On Thursday, I couldn't do lunch with my guy. I have a weekly meeting at 13:00, which would rush things. Instead, he suggested that we do dinner after work. I was game.

At around 12:44, my guy called me.

"Hey, sweetie. Just letting you know that there is free stuff on the second floor," he said.
"Thanks! I'm here right now, getting a free bag and entering a giveaway. You're so sweet," I noted.

Thursday was our company's Earth Day festivities. My guy is on the same floor as the festivities this week, so he let me know. He loves free stuff, so he wanted to pass this information on to me. He's thoughtful that way.

Thoughtful gifts

After dinner on Friday, my guy and I headed over to our cars. The rain had stopped.

He likes when I grab his hand. He immediately holds it when I do. I love walking with him that way.

"I have a surprise for you," he said to me.
"What?" I asked.

He opened his car's trunk. He took out a large bag. I could make out one of the two items.

"You got me a shredder!" I exclaimed.
"Yes. I also got you a tea steeper, because you are my tea girl," he said proudly.
"Wow, I don't have one. Thank you. I am so happy!" I said.
"I got them at Costco," he said proudly.
"I thought so," I said.

I kissed him. We both smiled and parted ways.

I had mentioned in the past that I wanted the paper and credit card shredder from Costco. I wasn't expecting to get it. The tea steeper was sweet of him to get. I love how attentive and thoughtful he is. I am a lucky girl.

Dinner and spanking options

We left the office the other night and headed towards my car. Although dopey, my guy noticed my winter tires.

"Hey, I get to see your winter tires on Bluie for the first time," he said.
"Yep, they are my Michelins," I replied.

We got into my car and I drove us to our usual Chinese restaurant. It was nice holding hands along the way.

I parked. We walked over to the restaurant. We had forty minutes before the restaurant would close for the evening.

We were promptly seated at a booth. We were advised that the kitchen would be shutting down at 21:30.

"What do I normally get?" my guy asked me, still sobering up.
"You get the ginger beef," I replied.
"Oh, yeah. That's right," he said, smiling at me.

Moments later, I placed our order. We then chowed down.

My guy sobered up quite nicely once there was food in his system.

"Do you know how much your hotel room was when you visited me?" he asked me.
"I'm not sure. I'll need to look my bill up," I said, getting my phone.

My guy is pretty good at paying me back. Although I would have been fine shelling out the bill, he always insists on at least splitting the cost. He's sweet that way.

We finished just before the restaurant closed. Nice! We paid and left.

I drove us back to the office.

"I can either spank you in your car or at the office. I'm giving you the choice," he said, holding my hand.
"How about at the office? You have never spanked me there since we moved buildings," I said.
"Sounds good. No one is at the office at this hour," he noted.
"I'm a good girl, though," I playfully teased.
"No, you're not. Why do you think that I always spank you?" he asked.
"You like to," I noted.
"I do," he admitted.

I always enjoy getting a spanking from him.

Pancake Tuesday

It has been years since I have had pancakes on Pancake (Shrove) Tuesday. I went out for lunch with three of my colleagues to get pancakes.

I wish I could pinpoint when I was first introduced to this day. I was definitely in elementary school. I had pancakes at school and have since loved all things yummy that need maple syrup on top. I love pancakes, waffles, and French toast to this day.

It was nice taking the time to have a leisurely lunch with colleagues. Tuesday was the first one this year where I did not work from home due to an early morning meeting. It felt good being in the office.

My guy got me a waffle maker a while back. I use it often, which is a nice reminder of how sweet and thoughtful he is.

Sweet dreams with a text message

It's nice when my guy wishes me goodnight in a text message. It's nice when he thinks of me.

"Goodnight, sweetie," he texted.
"Goodnight, sweet guy," I replied.

And, with that, I'm off to sleep. Sweet dreams!

Gifts

My guy was sweet to offer to split the hotel room rate the other weekend. On the second day, he came over to my hotel room and remembered.

"Let me pay before I forget," he said, taking out his wallet.
"It's okay. You don't have to," I said to him.
"Yes, I do. How come you don't want me to pick up my fair share?" he asked me.
"You got me gifts," I indicated, looking at the cookbook and cute plush owl.
"I will always buy you gifts," he said, sweetly.

He spoils me. He truly is my gift.

Good friends and calligraphy

On Saturday, I spent the day with a dear friend. It was good to catch up, shop, eat, and exchange Christmas presents.

We normally get together before Christmas. It didn't happen last year, so we did it yesterday instead. She got me a calligraphy set, which was wonderful, along with an R2-D2 Christmas ornament. I love them. She is an extremely thoughtful person.

I told her the story of our grade 8 art teacher asking my class who knew how to do calligraphy. A handful of my pears said my name. I was elected to print the names of each student graduating from grade 8. I did it with my good friend at the time. We had eight graduating classes to do, so we both took on four classes each of student names.

I wrote my own name on my graduation certificate. Perhaps I shouldn't have. Part of me felt that it didn't feel official doing so. I knew that it was, though.

My friend was impressed. I don't recall doing her certificate. We first met in grade 7, so I would have remembered such an important detail.

Even though we have been friends for ages, we still learn from each other. It's never a dull friendship. It's one that I truly appreciate and she does, too.