Moments D698: Helium Songs

This evening EQ & I spent the evening with Archie and Comic Guy.  It was a joint birthday celebration, so EQ and I showed up with birthday goodies!

An 11 year old Cabernet Merlot.

A birthday bag of odd gifts for the birthday boy:  Some tattoos (I wonder where they ended up!), a couple of random dollar store games and two bottles of the Walter caesar mix (mild & spicy).  What can I say, he and I are huge caesar fans and I when I saw the mix, I couldn't resist picking him up a couple of bottles of try it out!  (Amusingly, when we arrived he made us caesars....mixed with the new Walter caesar mix.  I had a fit of giggles when I realized!)

Specialty chocolates all the way from New York.

AND a bunch of helium balloons.

And this is where today's moment was born.

On the way over to Archie & Comic Guy's house, EQ commented that it would be fun to inhale the helium later on in the evening.  I teasingly reprimanded him - these weren't his balloons, they were for the birthday boy!  Besides, wasn't that something that kids do?

Fast forward to post dinner.  We are all sitting around enjoying our conversation and Archie walks over to two pairs of scissors:  one for me and one for EQ.  I look at him quizzically.  What on earth?  With a devilish smile, Archie explains that we're going to inhale the helium.

As you can imagine, I rolled my eyes as EQ burst into laughter.  After being asked "when did you get old"?, we all had a balloon in hand ready to inhale, sing and repeat around the room.

I can't lie.  It was funny.  It was hilarious in fact. EQ even caught some of it on video.

So much for being mature, but it sure did feel good to play along.

SHAZAM!

Moments enjoying your friends and being silly.

Moments understanding you don't always have to be proper.

Moments D681: Insights to a man's world

After a very long day and a seemingly endless class, I had had enough of my day.  Not that it wasn't productive, or offering up inspiring moments or an opportunity for self-reflection.  No no.  It was full of these things.  As you can imagine, but the end of this kind of day, I found myself drained.

As tired as I was, as defeated as I felt, I had plans after class and I wasn't going to skip out.  First and foremost, it's Comic Guy's birthday early next week and EQ and I are going to be away.  Secondly, I really, really needed a few extra hugs.

And so, I made my way, after class to met up with EQ, Comic Guy and Archie.  After a tour of Archie's new office, we made our way to the local hotel bar for shared conversation and a beverage.  Before I knew it, today's moment found me as I realized I was in the middle of a male discussion on shaving practices.

Yes, that's right.  Shaving one's face.  Doh!  I couldn't really join in on that discussion.  It was highly amusing to listen to the three of them discuss the merits of their shaving practices.  Shaving cream or not.  Soap or not.  Hot water versus warm.  How to get the closest shave. And so on.

I felt like I was eavesdropping in on a locker room conversation, right at the table in the bar and I couldn't help but smile.  (After all, I don't shave my face, so I really had nothing to contribute to the conversation.  All I could do was listen & learn!)

Moments re-connecting with friends.

Moments realizing you are in the middle of a gender specific conversation.

Moments D664: Scotch heaven

Today EQ and I had dinner with Comic Guy and Archie at a local pub - The Feathers.  I had no idea the treasure we were to stumble upon!

EQ is a scotch fan.  He has an impressive collection of his own.  Tonight, after dinner, after a visit to the loo, EQ noticed the wall of scotch which was, literally, right behind him the entire time we were sitting eating.  Oh the look of surprise!  

As soon as our waitress realized just how big a fan EQ was of scotch, she offered him the book of scotches available.  What an incredible book of options!  It was written in small print  with many, many pages. 

And then, the pièce de résistance - she offered him to take a look at the cellar.  WHOA!  Check it out:

Now that is a collection! And in that moment EQ was in scotch heaven.  He came back to the table with the look of a child who had just seen the biggest candy store.

He decided, at that point, that we simply must try one of his favourite scotches, from Ardbeg, from 1974. It was incredible.  (I guess 40 years old isn't so bad after all!)  Even Archie, a non-scotch drinker enjoyed it!

Today's moment, randomly stumbling across a treasure trove filled with scotch.  

Moments being pleasantly surprised.

Moments enjoying watching the childlike exuberance upon the face of the man you love.

Moments D646: Post Quiz Revelations

Today was not an easy day.  I haven't been feeling well.   I have also been trying to get back into the swing of school and failing miserably at finding my groove.  My mind has been filled with work "to dos" and my body and mind have been too tired to really dig into extra work or school readings.  Not a good combination given that I had my first quiz this evening in class.

Fortunately, I was spaced out enough that I didn't really stress too much about my first quiz.  It was only worth 10% of my final mark.  No problem.  I can swallow that and make up for it if I need to.  (right?) It was okay that I hadn't read all my chapters.  I had my class notes and had walked through the problems assigned to me.  I should be able to survive the quiz and that would be good enough. (right?)

Good enough.  What?  A year ago I would have been really stressed over the missed readings and extra time devoted to thoroughly understanding the material before this quiz.  Not tonight.  No, not tonight.  Who the heck am I?

It's one thing to logically talk yourself into "this is okay" and another thing entirely to believe it once you walk away from that conversation.  (In my case, a conversation with myself!)  And I wasn't entirely convinced that I was believing that it was okay until  today's moment happened.

Today's moment happened just after meeting up with EQ, Comic Guy and Archie for a late dinner and drink.  I really was okay with the fact that I likely didn't do well on this quiz.  I believed it.  It wasn't just lip service.  It was that moment when I admitted to Archie that I was okay even though I'm certain that my quiz did not go well.  That moment that was the tiniest of blips in my day, but it was a significant one looking back on it.

Instead we sat and had big meaningful life changing conversations.  It was incredible and empowering.

That said, you know it means that I'm not going to fight like hell to do much, much better on the rest of my tests in this class, but for this moment, I was okay with "good enough".

Moments recognizing self-growth.

Moments knowing (and believing) that the golf balls in your life really are more important.

Moments D572: Parking Ticket

Why on earth would I list a parking ticket as a moment that made me smile?

Well, it's a good tale.

Tonight EQ & I met up with Archie & Comic Guy at Arizona's place for dinner.  She had a dinner party to spend some time with EQ before he heads back to SoCal.  Arizona had her best friend join us, so we were a table of six enjoying a delightfully home cooked meal.  We spent the entire evening swapping stories followed by much laughter.  It was, truly, a perfect evening.  

Those of us who drove were somewhat concerned at getting a parking ticket.  (After midnight, in most areas of the city, parking on the streets requires a permit.).  We thought we would play it safe and said our goodbyes around 12:15 am.  When we walked up to the car, it was plain as day that a ticket had already been issued.  {sigh}  The ticket, for $30, was issued at 12:08 am.    

For the briefest of moments I paused and a thought flickered.  EQ & I would have easily spent more than $30 going out for the tasty dinner that we enjoyed tonight.  The fact that we were able to enjoy the home cooked, love infused food prepared by Arizona at the cost of a $30 ticket seemed highly under valued.

And so, I smiled as I pulled the ticket from under my windshield wiper.  A good deal after all.

Crazy?  Ya maybe.  But life's too short.

Moments flipping perceptions around.

Moments finding the silver lining.

Moments D561: Poppies V2

Today was an interesting day.  From first next steps, to an unexpected lunch out, to a sweet surprise just before leaving work.  Today's moment comes from that surprise.

Yesterday, while out for dinner with EQ, Comic Guy & Archie, I broke my new artsy, ceramic poppy as it fell off its pin.  Just my luck.

This early eve, my love arrived to pick me up at the end of the day.  As he waited for me, he pulled out of his pocket something in bubble wrap.  Eager to open my surprise, I unwrapped it with a gleam in my eye.

It was a perfect replacement of the one I had broken not 24 hours earlier.

I'm not sure if EQ realizes just how special that gesture was.  Now I can continue to enjoy my pretty, artsy, ceramic poppy, version 2.

Moments enjoying a simple gesture that shows much.

Moments enjoying a replacement poppy.

Moments D546: Fly me to the Moon

Today was a day of sitting on pins and needles, waiting. Sometimes waiting can be ever so torturous.  Believe me, today was one of those days!

Strangely, it was also highly productive day as I dove in deep trying to shed the excess energy swirling about me.  I was a machine burning off all that excess energy!  I'm the worst at waiting for these moments to arrive.  I tend to over-analyze and over-think a coming moment such as this.  A moment that I've prepared for, certainly for days, if not for weeks.  And the time was nearly upon me.  

Seriously.  Imagine all the pent up energy pent after all the twists and turns of the past month (or so).  The highs, the lows.  And now, I found the moment upon upon me.  It was time to share my news with "the powers that be".  It was time to start spreading the news and I was high on love and flying over the moon at the thought and anticipation of sharing my news.  

I was nervous.  Terribly nervous.  More nervous than I should have been, after all it was good news.  In fact, our final plan ended up becoming a win-win-win situation for all involved.  So why all the nerves?  

WELL......

Imagine the pent up energy from sitting on news this big for two weeks.

Imagine the emotional turmoil from shifting gears (back and forth and back again!) over those two weeks.

Add to that, the eerie silence and the inability to share with everyone. Add in the loss of a close friend and the inability to openly share and celebrate.  Frankly, there was, simply,  a lot of energy and words waiting to explode out into the universe from my heart & soul.  Even in today's moment, I had to contain their power.  I had to find a way to gently open the flood gates.  Baby steps.  

Believe me, baby steps are not easy, when you are holding back that much energy!

And yet.  I did it.

With shaky hands and a flutter in my heart I finally shared my recently solidified plan and news.  And, even though the plan has dramatically changed over the last week, it is a solid plan and it's extremely exciting.  Honestly, it was hard not to just have a silly grin on my face and babble about sparkles, unicorns and rainbows.

I'm rambling.  I know.  What can I say.  TOO. MUCH. ENERGY!

Okay focus.  

My moment today?  I managed to pull myself together.  I centred and grounded myself and I shared my news with, hopefully, few tell-tale signs of the nerves behind the words.    I hit the key points.  I was flexible and went with the flow of the conversation.  And, while there was excitement in the air, the business points were not lost.

But believe me, once the news and the proposal was out, I was internally doing the happy dance.  A mini-moment of celebration.  I barely contained myself from squealing over and over again.  (And I admit, I still let it slip at the end of my big conversation tonight.)

It's a good thing I was meeting Archie and Comic Guy for dinner and a show after work.  I needed to share out all that energy and love.

What an incredible day.  One, that I'm sure will be followed by many more as my love inches ever closer to me in our quest to continue to dig deep with one another.  We are officially on that path together.  And now, now the world knows.

Watch out world.  You have no idea what you are in for.

Moments waiting in anticipation.  

Moments pulling yourself together defeating the nerves within.

Moments D536: News!!

Today was not the best of days.  Too much to process, too many tasks to push through.

But in the craze, I had an opportunity to connect with a couple of friends today and share some good news with them.  Their reaction, each unique and yet similar in sentiment, brought a glow to my challenged day.

Before I go on with my story, I suppose I should properly name my best friend couple (BFC).  Let's call them Comic Guy and Archie.  Now, let me back up with my news story.

Last night I spoke with one half of my BFC, Comic Guy.   I was calling to connect with Archie to make arrangements for coffee time today. As Comic Guy and I spoke, I decided to make a bit of a game with my news.  I asked Comic Guy if he could keep a secret from his other half for about 18 hours.  With laughter and amusement, he agreed.  And so, I told him my exciting news.  He wasn't able to really respond given that his love was home with him, so I kept talking and shared with him some of the details.  It was a fun, silly conversation.  And, I knew that Archie would be itching to hear for himself today.  Amusing, right?

Back to today's moment (which is actually two moments about the same exciting news):

First thing this morning I shared out the news with another couple that I love dearly.  The response I received back was so warm, genuine and heartfelt.  It brought a tear to my eye and warmed my heart with a smile.  I was reminded that I am surrounded by loving friends.

Later in the morning, I had my coffee date with Archie.  As he, his business partner and I walked to the coffee place, I found myself antsy. Unable to hold onto the news any longer, I spilled the beans as we walked.  Stopping dead in his tracks, with a huge smile upon his face, he scooped me up in his arms with a big hug.  We spent the next 30 minutes talking about some of the finer details. How incredible that felt!  And, of course, we had a laugh (or two) over how Comic Guy knew about the news and used that as a tool to poke at Archie all last night.  Too much fun for one moment!

Fortunately today's warm fuzzy moments eases the sting I've been feeling from others being silent.

Moments getting a chance to share exciting news.

Moments enjoying the reactions filled with love and support.