Theory about a mysterious gift last Christmas

Just before Christmas, I received a book from an anonymous person. I saw the Amazon Prime sticker on the box and thought that it was something that I had ordered that had arrived. I ripped the box open and still don't know who sent me this book.

I have been thinking that it may have been the ex-guy. He has an Amazon Prime membership. He obviously knows where I live. I haven't communicated with him since I told him to stop contacting me last July. He has never mentioned anything about this book. He likely got confirmation that the shipment was delivered and was satisfied with that information.

The book? It's The Longevity Paradox by Steven R. Gundry. It's essentially a book about how to live a long, healthy, happy life.

Perhaps the ex felt guilty that he broke my heart and ruined a part of my life that this book would help me. Maybe he truly wants me to live a longer, happier life.

Anyway, I haven't read much from it. I suppose that I should and see if I do grow old, happy, and healthy.

My childhood friend has COVID-19

Two days ago, I found out that a friend whom I've known since we were both four years old, has COVID-19. Ugh!

She works as a manager at a liquor store, which remains open through this pandemic. She lost her sense of taste and smell last Monday. She got a test done and it came back positive.

She describes having it as if I truck had run over her. She is at home, resting and self-isolating. Her daughter is a newly minted nurse. It must be highly stressful for both of them.

My friend is upbeat under the circumstances. She is achy and tired, though. She also doesn't wish this virus on her worst enemy.

It's scary that certain provinces here want to relax certain policies. On Saturday, Ontario was allowed to have nurseries and garden centres open. All I saw were lineups of folks. As much as I am all for having a distraction and a gardening hobby, I simply hope that there are measures in place at these centres as there are at grocery stores. The last thing we want is another spike in the number of Canadians with COVID-19.

Stay safe and healthy, everyone. This virus is scary.

Warm, sunny evening, with few people around

After work yesterday, I did my usual grocery run and picked up some takeout before coming home. It was 13°C outside. Sunny. Warm. There was a breeze.

It was such a nice evening. Hardly anyone was out. It still seems odd, but it's becoming the norm.

I will do another grocery run on Saturday. I hope to get a turkey for Easter. The leftovers will last for several meals. I don't get tired of eating turkey. I've had it twice already this week.

Thankfully, there's one more workday to go. I hope you are well, safe, and healthy.

Working from home for a while, as the office is locked down

I have a virtual meeting every single day this week with my manager. It makes the week longer. Thank goodness each meeting is only an hour.

I haven't been outside since Saturday. I will need to step out tomorrow and get some groceries.

Tonight, my office will be locked down. Our badges are deactivated. Strict measures are in place.

So many changes. Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

Taxes and financial outlook

On Sunday, I filed my taxes. I am roughly 1.5 months early. I am looking forward to getting money at the end of the month.

Things at work are better. For a while, employees didn't get bonuses for three years because our company was digging itself out of debt. Last year, we got a bonus and it was amazing. I get one again at the end of the month, which is supposed to be better than the previous year. Yay!

I am looking forward to taking that money and paying off my debt. I also hope to invest some of it. I am working on an emergency fund in my savings account. It has been years since I've had a decent one.

I like that my financial situation is getting better. It has taken a while, but it's nice to see things coming together.

Happy lunar new year!

It's lunar new year! May it be happy, healthy, and wondrous.

It's raining a ton outside. It has been for hours. We have rain and snow advisories. Fun!

Have a great weekend and stay safe.

Happy 2020!

Happy new year! Here's hoping that 2020 will be healthy, joyous, and wondrous for you.

Thanks for your support, especially in 2019 when things were rough for me. It means a lot!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and happy holiday to you all! I hope that you have a joyous, healthy, and wonderful day.

P.S. My butt is still sore from yesterday's self-paddling session.

Predictable dentist's appointment and recognition at work

My dentist's appointment was predictable. I got x-rays done on my teeth. My teeth were cleaned. I have no cavities. Predictable is good.

On Monday, I went to an all-employee meeting at work. My manager rolled out a project that our team has been working hard on for several months. He had a slide recognizing all of us by listing our names.

For the last 1.5 months, I have been working closely with a developer to document a new way of installing software. We worked well together.

Well, his manage had a slide that listed only software developers on his team. He didn't put me on it. It didn't sit well with me.

On Tuesday, this developer sent me a recognition e-mail, which is a part of our internal program, saying nice things about working with me to get these steps documented. I appreciated it and responded back. My manager saw this recognition and also acknowledged it.

It's nice to be recognized from time to time.

Debt and credit card reductions

I'm working on reducing my debt. It's a constant battle.

I am hoping to pay off one of them in a couple of months. I have been working on it for a while and I see a bit of light.

My ultimate goal is to get rid of a grand total of two credit cards this year. Last year, I got rid of one. I don't know what possessed me to have so many credit cards. They are evil!

My guy feels the same way about credit cards. You only need one or two.

It's nice that we can chat about finances. It's healthy.

Little food changes make my tastebuds happy

I spent the weekend tweaking what I eat. I have done a couple of minor changes, but they made quite the difference.

For a while now, I have been making smoothies, with celery as the main ingredient. It helps regulate my blood pressure and get more veggies into my diet.

The last time I saw my doctor, she indicated that I needed to boost my good cholesterol. I don't eat enough avocados, so I bought six of them. I decided to put one of them in a typical batch of my smoothie mixture. Wow! My smoothie became creamy and even more delicious. Why didn't I think of adding avocados sooner?

The other change was my going to my local health food store. I had to get a specific supplement that has been helping me a ton. I saw the vegan section, and went with chicken fingers and fish fillets that do not have any meat protein in them.

I had the fish for lunch and I was blown away. They tasted just like fish fillets. I had the same reaction when I ate the chicken fingers. Both were so tasty and good.

I like these couple of minor changes that have made my tastebuds happy.

Happy Lunar New Year!

It's the year of the dog, which happens to be the sign that my mom shares.

I don't normally take this day off from work. When I was in elementary school, my mom insisted on pulling me out of school to take in all the festivities. After that, I ended up going to school when this special day landed on a school day.

I am thankful that I made it through another year. Here's hoping for a healthy, happy new year to come!

U is for under control #AtoZchallenge

I am on the quest to lower my blood pressure, reduce my stress, and eat better. It helps that I have supportive people around me.

On Tuesday, my free blood pressure monitor arrived. It is fancy. It even detects arrhythmia. The device is recommended by Hypertension Canada.

As crazy as it may seem, I enjoy taking my blood pressure. I relax and do the reading twice. So far, my blood pressure has been under control.

Trying to reduce stress is challenging. My stress is definitely work-related. I tend to put my instant messaging program in do-not-disturb mode these days. That way, folks can only contact me through e-mail. For my manager, he knows that I am online being in this status. If I could, I would log off completely. I have found that I am happier and definitely not as stressed when I take this approach.

I find that I feel obligated to respond to folks when they send me an instant message. I also get worked up when I am focused on something and I get inundated which such messages. They are a distraction. I get annoyed when folks send me an e-mail to ask me something, I respond, and then the person has the need to talk further on our instant messaging program. Ugh!

My guy is supportive. He keeps telling me that work is not important and to take it easy. I find that cuddling with him reduces my stress. Well, being with him always does.

My manager has been equally as supportive. The other day, he sent me a green drink blender recipe. Blending a green apple, celery stalks, green pepper, spinach, and cucumber helped his brother lower his blood pressure. After work on Friday, I went to the grocery store to prepare. I will give it a whirl (literally) using my fancy blender tomorrow. Here's to healthy green drinks!

Switching fitness trackers and enticing my guy to exercise for money

A few weeks ago, I noticed that my Pebble watch was not recording my steps correctly. The app that helped track my steps was not working properly.

Fitbit bought Pebble. All support for Pebble pretty much disappeared.

I love my Pebble watch, but I needed to track my steps. I went back to my Fitbit One. The downside was that the band that I had purchased to wear it around my wrist wasn't comfortable. The Fitbit One is normally worn clip-style. However, I broke several of them, which prompted me to try wearing it as a wrist bracelet.

The One is accurate and reliable. I determined that I wanted the best of both worlds -- a fitness tracker that provides some alerts that I love, such as phone calls and text messages, and accurately track my steps.

I settled for the Fitbit Alta. It is stylish and comfortable. You can actually change the bands. Mine is purple, which is my favourite colour.

The Fitbit Alta is equally as accurate as my One. The difference is that the Alta has to be charged after nearly a week. My One can last for two weeks before I need to charge it. The Alta is still better that charging my Pebble Time Round watch every night.

I do love my Alta. It buzzes when I have an incoming call and when I receive text messages. I don't have to deal with the various notifications that I can customize on my Pebble.

At work, we got fitness trackers. I didn't like it because you have to physically get a battery once it dies. My guy put it away after trying it out for a month. He told me that I am polite for not calling him lazy. I simply said that he got bored with it.

Well, I told him about our health program at work. You exercise in three months periods. Depending on how many points you accumulate, you earn money towards getting a prepaid credit card.

I told my sweet guy, whose nickname is Cheap Bastard, that we get money to spend on whatever we'd like when we reach certain fitness goals. He perked up. 

He's sweet. He is my Cheap Bastard.

Vacation, work, and car memories

My vacation begins! I am off for a week from work.

I last took a vacation in early July. It seems like eons ago.

I will still be posting, but likely not daily. My road trip begins on Sunday. I have just finished packing 75% of my suitcase. You can tell that I cannot wait to do something other than work. I stopped packing because it's nearly 01:30 and I need to sleep.

At work, I said goodbye to the writer who has decided to leave the company right before a major software release. I am taking over half her work. I flat out said that I am not taking over all of this writer's work. I am somewhat relieved that she is leaving, for she is the most defensive colleague that I have ever worked with.

My boss calls me Superwoman, simply because I can handle practically anything tossed my way. However, feeling overwhelmed by taking another writer's full workload isn't going to make me happy. My health, both physical and mental, is far more important than backfilling a position.

And, yes, I continue to miss my guy. His car parked in the lot at work reminds me of him whenever I walk by it. All the conversations we have had in that car. All the intimate, fun moments are there.

He is still trying to sell that car. It will take a while, but it's nice to think about all the good times my guy and I have shared in it.