Moments D715: Secret Deliveries

I have the best damn naturopathic doctor ever.

Of course, that suggests that I have a ton of experience with NDs and know that know what the hell I'm talking about.  I don't.  Honestly, she's the only ND I've ever seen.

That said, she IS an amazing person.  She goes above-and-beyond all the time.  She takes time out of her personal time to check in on her patients (well me, but I assume she does that for all her patients).  She is thorough and easy to share all your health bits and pieces with.  Yes, even the embarrassing ones.

This past Thursday, she helped me out of a pinch.  (Sorry for the pun!)  I emailed her, she called me and we talked about options.  No charge, no expectation of anything, just a "I don't think you need xxx, but this might help."

And it did.  And she, in the end, missed out on an appointment that would have generated some income for her.

I needed to do something to thank her.  For this moment and for all the others she's done in the past.  It's a small token, but it hit the mark.

And for some reason, my name wasn't signed to the card!  The gift was completely a surprise AND it came anonymously to her.  BANGARANG!

I have since emailed her to let her know that I am happy that she was surprised and that it's a small token of my appreciation for all the over-and-above she does for me.

And, I know those potted bulbs will bring her weeks of enjoyment to come.  Perfect really.

Thank you Dr. Lisa Watson!  You've been a life saver more than once.

Moments knowing that your surprise was well received.

Moments sharing your light and love with those that give it to others.

Moments D705: Vibrating Needles

I have been dealing with a pinched nerve and a kinked next for a week and a day as of today.  Yes, laugh it up - I'm getting old.  Sleeping deep and hard in one position apparently is not good for one's neck!

Early this morning, it my neck finally popped back into place, but all the muscles around that point are still furious with me as I haven't been relieved the pain I've been carrying around.  To make matters worse (or the pain in this case), all week my left arm has been spasming because of the pinched nerve.  Today my entire arm feels like I've been doing major workouts on it every day for the past seven days.  It's sore, it's exhausted, and it is still spasming!

And so, I made an appointment with my chiropractor for some acupuncture and an adjustment in the hopes that I would finally find some relief from this crazy pain.

Now, I've been doing acupuncture for many years now.  It's always been helpful on the strangest pains that have cropped up over the years.  What happened in today's treatment has never happened before.

As my chiropractor inserted the needles into my shoulders and elbows (both points), I could feel the needles vibrating, wiggling in their points.  It was the weirdest sensation.

Once inserted and fully into position, they felt the same as all the other needles:  a bit warm and biting in my tense muscles.

Twenty minutes pass and it's time to take the needles out.  Again, as my chiropractor goes to remove the needles, they are actively vibrating just as she pulls them from my skin.

Very weird and wondrous.  I don't really know how it works, but the pain in my neck was nearly gone and I had better rotation of my head too.  The pain in my shoulder and forearm, that was still there, but definitely lighter than it had been earlier.

BANGARANG for vibrating needles.

Now to deal with these tight muscles.  Spa anyone?

Moments finding solutions to a problem.

Moments experiencing something new doing something old.

Moments D669: Monkey Notes

Tonight after work I headed to Newmarket to have a girls' night with my BFF.  It's been far too long since we've had such an opportunity.  We had a delightful time with "imported" Chino Locos, wine and delightful conversations. (Yes, that's right, I brought dinner with me from Toronto to Newmarket.  And yes, the burritos were still warm when I arrived at BFF's!)

But the best moment of the evening was when I remembered that I had something for BFF.  I dug it out of my purse and gave it to her.  She laughed and laughed.  And I smiled.  It was that perfect moment of knowing you've brightened someone's day a wee bit more than they had expected.  Bangarang!

It wasn't anything big, but it was meaningful:

It's a note pad with monkeys as a theme.  I know you are wondering why this might have brought such smiles.  I can't really share the "inside-scoop" to that, but let's leave it as this:  monkeys are an "us" thing and they are meaningful to us.  I simpley couldn't not pick up the pads when I saw them while out shopping a few weeks back.  One for BFF and one for me.

Why two?  Well, because now every time I need a scrap piece of paper for one thing or another, I'll have a laugh.   And so will my BFF when she goes to do the same.  A gift that will keep on giving, to us both over the days to come.

Moments finding something simple and yet special.

Moments sharing the smile for many "pages" to come.

Moments D616: Back into the Groove

Today it was the first day back at work.  Back into the groove of every day life.

And I loved it.  It was easy to slide back into.  After a productive day at work, EQ and I went to an early movie and then dinner.  We were back early enough to finish watching the end of "Despicable Me2".

Bangarang.

Sometimes it's just that simple to have a lovely moment.

Moments appreciating a typical day in the life.

Moments enjoying the groove of every day.

Moments D575: Food Surprises

Tonight I had a hankering for Indian food and while I had a good chat with my ND about the best Indian restaurant in the area to order from, I actually ended up making dinner tonight.

Okay, that's not entirely true.  I had some butter chicken with chickpeas that I made up awhile ago and froze the leftovers.  After thawing the main course out, I propped it up a bit by adding more sauce and some paneer to the mix and let it come to a simmer as I made some raita and kachumber as sides.  EQ watched the basmati rice and by the time I was done making the sides we were ready for dinner.

And I was drooling!  Seriously.  Perhaps that's TMI, but I was hungry and I was about to enjoy a meal that I knew I'd love.

EQ, on the other hand was feeling tentative about the meal.  I had no idea.

Just after digging in, I asked EQ how the meal was.  (Every chef wants to know if their offerings were enjoyable!)  His answer surprised me.  "It's good.  Much better than I expected."

Huh?

So I dug into that a bit.  Seems EQ was pretty certain that he wasn't going to enjoy my butter chicken, that it would be okay, but not something enjoyable.  I felt badly!  I was so excited at the prospect of this meal that I hadn't stop to think that maybe it was something that would be outside EQ's comfort zone.  After all, I know he's had curries before!

And then the strangest thing happened.  EQ wanted seconds.  He rarely does seconds.  Bangarang!  

Now that was an awesome moment.

Moments sharing my love of food with the one I love.

Moments where they joyfully connect.

Moments D488: Circles Entwine

Today was an extra special day.  It was a day where my circles really entwined.  Today was the family BBQ and there were a few present from both sides of my family.  A special occasion that my family has once a year (or at least we try to), my dear sweet EQ rearranged his schedule so that he could join us.

Yes.  That's right.  He chose to meet my entire family in one fell swoop.  Crazy?  Yes maybe, but that's one of the things that I love about him.  He makes it plenty clear what is important to him.  Making time to meet my family, even if it was going to be (possibly) overwhelming, was important to him.

We also had another guest to the family table:  my bestie from Haliburton.  Sure, she's "chatted" with my Mom before, but never have they met.  Neither has Hawk met EQ or the rest of my high energy family. (Yes, that's a nice way of saying rambunctious!  If I do say so myself, we are a happy, fun family though!) I'm not sure Hawk was ready for the day ahead, but I think, in the end, I hope she enjoyed it as much as she said she did.

After a lazy morning with my parents (coffee on the deck and later breakfast), we were off to the Whirlpool Jet Boating adventure with 6 others in my family.  What an incredible time we had, filled with laughs, soggie smiles and screams of delight.  (I'm assuming they were all in delight - my screams were!)

As the day moved on, I could see Hawk fitting in with my family.  Notably with my younger cousins as a blueberry fight erupted.  By the end of the day, I was no longer worried about whether or not Hawk was comfortable in the group.  She most certainly was.

More importantly, was the very obvious opening up of my Mom & Dad to EQ.  Where they were reserved and observing last night upon arrival, they were now fully engaged and swapping stories back and forth.  I enjoyed watching it unfold.  I also saw that others in my extended family were warm and accepting of EQ.  In fact, I had my dead Nana's approval (via my Aunt), my Aunt and my 15 year old niece's approval before they even left the BBQ. (I'm sure there are only more to positive comments to come.)  It warmed my heart for it was, no, it is, important for EQ to fit into my family, for I love my family deeply.  It's just as important that they fit into his world and needs of a family.

This, by far, was the best moment of the day.  Realizing that EQ fit.  Not only does he fit with me (so very much!), he fit, very well, with my family.  Beautiful.  After he and I downloaded the day's events this evening, it was pretty clear that he too enjoyed my family.  Bangarang!   Worlds didn't collide - they entwined.  I couldn't have asked for more.

All was well in the world of my family meeting my bestie and the man I love.

Moments holding your breath.

Moments realizing that it was unnecessary.

Moments D475: Surprises gone wrong, turned right

Today was a fantastic day, I slept in, made my final preparations for my trip and then headed to the airport.  I was headed back to my favourite city in the US (Chicago) to meet my boyfriend.

I arrived into Chicago early enough to have time to make some preparations for a surprise I had in mind.  As my plan came together, my time table shifted.  In a blink of an eye I found myself unprepared and floundering for a plan B.  I found myself caught on the phone with a decision to make:  Stay and ensure that Plan A worked out, or head out to meet up with my boyfriend and his friend for a late dinner.  Even though I had eaten dinner already, I opted for heading down to meet up with the two gentlemen as it would be a treat to meet EQ's friend. And with that decision, plan A was quickly discarded.

The three of us sat and enjoyed dinner (well, they enjoyed dinner while I enjoyed my water!) We shared a story or three of the weekend's activities.  I watched as the two of them spoke about the sport they loved and some of the interesting challenges they had faced over their weekend of training.  Not only was it interesting to be a fly on the wall for those conversations, it was great to meet one of EQ's respected students who has become a good friend.  As dinner neared its end, I had to figure out plan B in a hurry.

And just as quickly as Plan A was destroyed, Plan B took shape....and it worked.  It worked out perfectly.

The moment here?  Go with the flow.  Have faith that a surprise gone wrong can be salvaged and enjoyed with a backup-on-the-fly plan.  And sometimes, Plan B is actually a better Plan A.  In my case, I was able to squeeze in dinner (right, water!), meet a new friend and still have a successful surprise to share.  Bangarang!

Moments watching a surprise slip away.

Moments realizing that another surprise has filled its place.