Category: Food

June 2023 Recap

Posted on

One day I was browsing Facebook and there was an ad for special edition Goose Creek candles featuring Strawberry Shortcake characters. I immediately thought of my cousin and sent her the link. She quickly responded “way ahead of you” and sent me a screenshot of an order she had placed for all of them the day before. Then a week later a package arrived at my house with these inside. My cousin is so thoughtful!

Joe and I were hanging out on the patio one evening when I spotted a rabbit amongst the basil my neighbors grow.

I was on my morning walk with Wookie on June 5th and texted Joe.

Me: Awww man the lighting out here is perfect for picture taking. I’m pulling you out of work. I’ll get the red sports car and disguise.

Joe’s reply: Do you have a kiss for daddy?

The funny thing is I had no idea this was the date from the movie until I saw this meme. What are the odds?

Some weird nature related wizard started letting me see insects & birds after I wished to do so out loud. It happened four times where I’d tell Joe I’d really like to see x thing and then not five minutes later, it would appear. It was really freaky! I have a hard time of believing in God (or any gods for that matter), but I did say he could turn me into a believer if he got rid of my tinnitus entirely by the end of the month. Sadly, it didn’t happen, so I remain a skeptic.

Donated items to my friend – including board games & a bunch of candles she said her daughter would like (I don’t plan on buying candles anymore because I’m worried about the harm they do to our lungs).

Heard that a new A&W restaurant recently opened in the area. Now, the last time I ate at one many moons ago I was not impressed, but we decided to give it a try since it was on the way back from a bird sanctuary we wanted to visit anyway. We ordered a root beer cream freeze (it’s like a cross between a float and a shake), corn dog nuggets, and a chili cheese dog. We also grabbed some Portillos fries on the way home. Everything except the freeze was disappointing. I suppose the silver lining is we won’t be tempted to eat at either place again anytime soon.

Met a fellow photographer at a park we frequent and became Facebook/Flickr friends which is cool.

Intended to go to the DMV to get the REAL ID that is now required to get into Fermilab’s grounds (they have some nice nature areas I want to photograph), but could not find my birth certificate anywhere. Took advantage of Joe having the morning off anyway and visited Cantigny Park to get loads of lovely flower photos. I wish it had been a more peaceful visit, however. After a little mulling over, I sent them a message via Facebook:

I’m not trying to be THAT person, but I came early today to enjoy a rare morning off with my husband and it was anything but peaceful with staff members walking around with loud leaf blowers and kicking up dust. I’m not sure why they can’t do that before you’re open to the public, but I’d like to avoid it in the future because it ruined an otherwise pleasant visit. Therefore, if you could tell me what days/times your staff normally walks around with the leaf blowers I can avoid the park during those times. Thanks.

That was on a Friday right before 5 pm so I wasn’t surprised they didn’t respond, so on the following Monday after 7 pm I sent another message:

The above wasn’t a rhetorical question. I would like to know the schedule for the leaf blowers, please.

Still no response (other than an automated one stating they’d respond during business hours, even though to this date they never have). Ok, then. I see how much they care about their visitors. I guess all subsequent visits will be via the Museum Pass I can get at the library instead of paying them. I just hope I can avoid those goddamn loud leafblowers!!!

I was able to get a photo of the birth certificate my mom has and use that info to request my own copies. We’ll see how long that takes!

I had my annual wellness exam with a new doctor because mine left the practice. She’s… ok. I don’t dislike her but I don’t love her either. She ordered bloodwork which you have to fast for, and I knew this ahead of time, but made the mistake of making an 11 am appointment and wasn’t sure I’d last. I called the office to confirm they do have a phlebotomist on staff and they assured me they do not and that I would have to go next door to immediate care to get my blood drawn. I assumed that would take too long mid-day and would just come back a different day when they first open. Well, that was a mistake! Not only did I find out from the doctor there is a phlebotomist on staff, so I wouldn’t have had to wait, but when I did go to immediate care a few days later I was behind 8 other people who arrived early as well. The wait ended up being slightly over a half hour which still wasn’t bad, but it would have been zero had I not eaten on the call center person’s advice. Note for future reference, I guess.

Joe’s great aunt (his late father’s sister) passed away and we attended her funeral and wake. On the way home we stopped and picked up Culver’s because we were hungry and it seemed like a fitting tribute since she loved that place. In fact, the last time we saw her was when Joe, me, she, and Joe’s dad went out to Culver’s for lunch.

January 2023 Recap

Posted on

Egg prices were outrageous. $7.50 for two dozen at Costco which is considered a deal.

Discovered the Unsolved Mysteries podcast and started binge-listening like a mofo.

Put my Robert Smith Funko Pop on my Cure shelf above my computer desk.

Bitched on Facebook about the fact that you cannot add McDonald’s Arch Card to their mobile app for payment. So stupid!

Made cream cheese strudel for breakfast one day and dare I say it, was tastier than any stupid coffee cake you can buy at the store.

Found the cutest and comfiest slippers on clearance at Walmart ($6 each).

Started tracking my sleep with my Apple Watch in an effort to prioritize it. Gamifying life is the way to go!

Made zucchini bread with walnuts that made me question why I do not make it more often as it’s delicious!

Finished, and started, a few TV series:

Finished Better Call Saul. Final season was a bit of a slog.

Started three new series:

That 90’s Show (Netflix) – 7/10 – Love the nostalgia factor & the one girl reminds me of Alana from Broad City

The Last of Us (HBO Max) – 6/10 – Olivia from Fringe is in it. Based off a PlayStation video game

Night Court (Peacock) – 7/10 – Bernadette from Big Bang Theory is the judge & John Larroquette reminds me of an old Billy Eichner. Loved watching the original when I was at my grandparents house.

Culver’s ruined my day, and all future trips, by switching rom Pepsi to Coke in all their restaurants. Coke is too sweet and rips up my stomach so it’s a sad day that yet another restaurant only serves Coke products. I normally do not get soft drinks when dining out anyway, but the kids meal at Culver’s comes with one and I looked forward to a little Pepsi with my burger. I refuse to buy soda for at home when a case of 12 is $8 and you used to be able to get a case of 24 for $5!

The main tv in our living room (a Samsung 55″, which we got in June 2015) developed the purple spots of death meaning we’ll need to replace it relatively soon depending on how quickly the rest of the backlit LEDs burn out (or how much it starts to annoy me seeing a purple cast on everything). So far it’s just in two spots along the top and left side so they aren’t always noticeable.

Discovered our new favorite ice cream brand – Favorite Day by Target. All the flavors we’ve tried thus far are delicious (Cookie Dough, Peanut Butter Fudge, and Mint Cookies & Cream). Didn’t think to check the ingredients until the third container, only to realize there’s high fructose corn syrup in them. No wonder! Will probably still get it, but won’t go as hard on them moving forward.

Finally added Wish to my vinyl collection. It’s a re-issue that I preordered from my new favorite record store, Mile Long Records. The prices are a bit higher than you’d pay on Amazon or Walmart, but I like supporting a local business and it’s owner, Mike, is really nice.

Decided to stop spending hours every night scrolling TikTok and get back into reading instead. Set a goal of 24 books this year and was ahead of schedule after reading 4 books in January alone. Since my eyes suck and I’ve yet to get bifocals or progressives, I dusted off my old 2010 Kindle and started using that again. Other than needing to be charged more frequently than when it was new, it’s been great!

Christmas

Posted on

Christmas Day was a relaxing quiet one. We had opened the majority of our gifts the day before, but after breakfast we opened the remaining ones.

Joe got me a non-picture disc vinyl copy of Seventeen Seconds by The Cure, a paper cutter from my wish list, a phone & watch charging stand for my nightstand, and of course, the Apple Watch.

He also got me a pair of earbuds (same type, different color than the ones I got him below) because he thought they would be great with my new Apple Watch (since you can only listen to music and podcasts directly from the watch with earbuds). He totally spaced on the fact that I avoid earbuds now with my ear issues. He had forgotten about them because I haven’t been talking about my ears lately (still have tinnitus but it’s calmed down and the sensitivity in my ear is much better lately). Needless to say, those will be returned.

What’s missing is a cute t-shirt that looks like this:

The postal service said it was delivered in our mailbox on 12/12 but it never materialized. We thought maybe they put it in a neighbor’s box by mistake, since it’s a shared box with individual slots, so we were waiting to see if they would bring it over. When that didn’t happen, we went to the post office on 12/17 and filled out a form, but haven’t heard squat from them. Joe contacted the Etsy seller but they can only refund us if we can get a letter from the post office stating the package is missing. But they’re not going to do that since according to them it was delivered. Ugh! So we’re out that money now. So help me if I ever see someone in this neighborhood wearing that shirt…

I got Joe a Darth Vader print he had requested, some earbuds from his wish list, candy (two different types of Turtles so we could do a taste comparison – Turtle brand wins if you like caramel, but Fannie May does it you’re not into chocolate – and watermelon Sour Patch Kids since they stopped making the watermelon flavored Twizzlers he loved), a small Star Wars LEGO set, and two bars of Bath & Body Works soap.

Wow, seems lame when laid out, right? But the Apple Watch for me was a last minute decision. We don’t typically buy each other big gifts since we like picking out expensive things ourselves as needed. Although last year he got me a new computer monitor which I didn’t like so he uses it instead. That’s just how things go sometimes when you’ve been together almost 21 years.

We watched Die Hard & Scrooged and had planned to have a steak dinner but weren’t hungry enough after lunch (which was homemade baked mac & cheese) so we had it the following day with green bean casserole, crescent rolls, and some of the sweet potato casserole I had frozen from Thanksgiving. Dessert over the entire week has been the pistachio cake I made, although on Monday I made the pumpkin pie we originally intended to have on Thanksgiving but didn’t, so Joe had that (I don’t care for pumpkin pie).

Sonny Acres & Ghoulish Homes

Posted on

Late morning Saturday (10/22) we decided to make our annual visit to Sonny Acres, and it was crazy busy. So much so that we ended up parking on the west side of the farm which we’ve never had to do before.

We made our way over to the food area and I was shocked that they had raised the prices of their apple cider donuts once again. Last year they were $2.50 each and now they are $3. Where does it end? They already doubled the price of their haunted hayrides from $10 to $20.

Well, we people watched for awhile and decided to get donuts elsewhere. I called over to a local bakery but they were all out so we decided we’d try Costco. Well, we happened to be right in the vicinity of a Beef Shack, so we stopped there for lunch first. It was a nice day so we ate outside and then grabbed a dozen apple cider donuts from Costco for $8.50.

Later that evening we did the second half of the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour in St. Charles (there were so many houses on the list this year we split the list in two and did the first half on 10/15). It was ok, but there were too many new houses participating with underwhelming decorations. I feel like if you’re not going all out then maybe a decorating contest isn’t for you. I dunno, I feel burnt out on all the previously fun fall activities we’d do. I don’t know if it’s the repetition, or that they seem to get more boring every year or what, but I think we’ll still go see houses but not bother with Scarecrow Fest or Sonny Acres anymore.

Retail Therapy

Posted on

This weekend we decided to get out and do a little fun shopping which we haven’t done much of in the last few years. What I mean by that is we go out specifically looking for stuff to buy without an exact item in mind. Perfect places for this are used media stores, so we headed to an area that has both a Half Price Books and a Disc Replay within steps of one another.

Unfortunately we didn’t find much at either, but that’s to be expected since their inventory is always changing. The HPB by us is much bigger but our Disc Replay closed several years ago which is a shame as it’s really fun to browse there. They had two huge bins of Atari games that we rifled through, but no copies of Seaquest were found. I am well aware I can buy it on Ebay, but I like the thrill of the hunt. I’m still looking for seasons 5 & 8 of Scrubs as well. I found every single season except those two recently. What are the chances? We ended up with a $1 copy of The House Bunny but the entertainment value was worth much more.

I was craving soup on the way home so we stopped at Bulldog Alehouse to get a bowl of cream of chicken & rice. Despite it having a cheesy flavor, I really liked it. Price wasn’t bad either.