Happy birthday to my best friend!

Today's my best friend's birthday. We have been friends since we met in summer school when I had just turned sixteen years old. He is 1.5 months older than I am.

He came out to me as being gay when we were in university. I still remember that conversation over the phone. He didn't know how I'd feel I was good with it.

We caught up today when I texted him to say hi and wish him a great day. I didn't realize that his Facebook account was hacked and he had created a new account. He didn't know that my Instagram account had got hacked, either. We both weren't following each other, which is funny when I look at things now.

We sent a bunch of texts today. It was nice catching up. We hope to meet over a meal or something soon. It has been way too long!

Update on my friend leaving the company, but moving to a new career elsewhere

Last Friday was my friend's final day at work. My team is horrible at sendoffs. I ended up creating an online meeting for us to say goodbye to her and solicited donations towards a farewell gift separately, if folks wanted to donate.

To explain the situation, my friend originally got a job as a project manager within the company. She was to move to a different department.

I had warned her about her soon-to-be new manager. She was toxic towards me and isn't a nice person. Sure enough, she never finalized my friend's contact and how much she would be earning. She also wanted my friend to work both was a writer and project manager for two months at her current pay.

My friend appreciated the warning that I gave her. She decided to quit. She deserved better. I don't blame her.

She does have a new job lined up and starts just over a week from now. I'm happy for her.

As a team, before this pandemic, we would normally get together for a farewell lunch. My friend isn't comfortable being in a large crowd. Instead, she'd rather have a meal with me and one other colleague. We'll be doing that soon.

I have collected enough funds to get her a spa gift basket. I need to figure out how to get her mailing address to get it delivered to her. I may need to ask my manager first. Otherwise, I may need to ask her directly, which kind of ruins the entire vibe.

Happy belated Easter!

Happy belated Easter! I spent a good part of my morning making Easter lunch for my parents and me. It turned out well.

I woke up at 8 am, which is my usual wakeup time during the weekday. I felt that it would be best to serve lunch at 12:30 am, as opposed to 2 pm if I got up at my usual weekend time of 9:30 am.

 

Here are some food pics. I'm starting with a plate of stuffing, mashed potatoes, and roasted veggies and turkey.

 

 I love stuffing. I tend to put onions, mushrooms, and celery in it.

I love how crispy the skin ended up on the turkey. Delicious!

If you do observe Easter, I hope that it was peaceful, and that you were able to spend it with folks that you care about and love.

Sleep and Happy Meals

I have been sleeping well since I cut out most sugary items from my diet. Other than my leg pain the other night, I haven't woken up in the middle of the night to attend to my bladder this week.

I have had a few apple slices this week. They were a part of a McDonald's Happy Meal. I'm collecting Mr Men and Little Miss toys. I have the option of having apple slices or fries in the meal. There are fewer carbs in the former, although it does have natural sugar.

As an adult, I never imagined ordering Happy Meals!

Mr Men = Spongebob

Yesterday, I decided to get a Happy Meal from McDonald's. I haven't had one since I was a kid.

Why did I get one? It's offering Mr Men as the toy. I grew up with the Mr Men series, so it's a nostalgic thing.

Well, I specified the Mr Men Happy Meal. What did I get? Spongebob. Ugh!

Apparently, Mr Men all got a facelift and became Spongebob. I will try again soon and hope that the folks at my local McD's get my order correct!

Christmas

My Christmas was quiet, but nice. I spent three hours cooking. I spent the rest of the day relaxing.

I roasted a turkey. I love my convection oven. It does a great job crisping the skin and keeping the turkey juicy.

I made mashed potatoes with ghee. It was a first and it turned out nicely.

Stuffing is a must. I no longer stuff the turkey with it. Instead, I make it on the stovetop and it's so much easier. I live for stuffing.

I did something different and made salted caramel quick bread at the same time that the turkey was roasting. It turned out well for my first try. It was nice to have dessert.

I also roasted sweet potatoes. The key is to poke a ton of holes with a fork before they go into the oven, so the sweet potatoes don't explode.

I fed my parents. They seemed to enjoy the food. They took a nap afterwards.

Oddly, I couldn't nap. I slept well last night, though. I'm happy that they had a great meal.