Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I really wish I could have enjoyed Halloween more this year but I let a particular situation that has been weighing heavily on my mind interfere too much with my enthusiasm. I was not feeling the Halloween love this year and was particularly cranky when I got home from work. I did feel much better after we picked up some yummy deep dish pizza, though. I think it’s a blood sugar thing.

But instead of any further bitching and moaning, I’ll leave you with an article about Halloween Treats Guaranteed to Earn to Earn You a Trick.

Hope you had a fun Halloween!

30 Seconds to New Music

This weekend I actually purchased a few CDs from the used book store. I got 2 double cd sets, 3 regular cds, and 3 singles for $12. Not too shabby, although so far one double set has proved to be disappointing. But I still enjoy having a physical CD as opposed to downloading tracks, particularly if there’s more than two songs I want to hear.

That’s why I love the library. It’s try before you buy. And when I was there the other day I was playing a little game where I pick a CD from a band I’ve never heard of before based on the cover art being interesting. This one just happened to be “A Beautiful Lie” by 30 Seconds to Mars. I started listening to it today and I’m really getting into it. I recognized the song, “The Kill” from the radio, but the real excitement was the track “Was It A Dream?”. It reminded me of another band… and then the following track contained the lyrics “Maybe tonight we can forget about it all. It could be just like heaven.” Gee, you think they’re Cure fans?

The Nightmare Before Cure-mas t-shirt   Robert Smith?

Speaking of The Cure, their new album comes out tomorrow. I’ve been itching to order it from Amazon.com but didn’t want it shipped separately from a few other items I’m planning on getting so that order will be placed tomorrow. I can wait to hear it because quite frankly after buying and listening to all the singles my expectations are low. I’d love for them to prove me wrong, of course.

My music recommendations for the week:

A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars
4:13 Dream by The Cure
Enter by Russian Circles
Big Beach Boutique II by Fatboy Slim

Anniversary

Yesterday was our three year anniversary (being married, that is) and even though I was very clear we were not exchanging gifts, I got flowers and some yummy chocolate from Joe anyway. That husband of mine is just too good to me!

Then we gorged ourselves on food because that’s the only way to celebrate. Since the Lonestar by us is closed (*cry*), Wildfire sucked last year, and I’m not that hooked on Red Lobster, we tried a place called Claim Jumper. We hit some really crappy traffic on the way over and I was starting to feel like it was an omen; another crappy dinner that was going to cost far too much. We even considered turning around and hitting Portillo’s instead, but I’m glad we didn’t because we were both pleasantly surprised.

Not only is the atmosphere perfect – low lighting, high ceilings, big comfy booths, attentive service – the food is great too.

We decided instead of spending a fortune on two steaks which is always way too much meat for either of us, we’d share a steak and another dish. This is what we ordered and my personal rating out of five stars, or in this case, asteriks:

French Onion Soup *** (Joe thought it was ok (I don’t like French Onion soup))
Filet *****
Cheese potato-cakes *****
Barbecue chicken salad ** (much better at California Pizza kitchen)
Chocolate Cupcake ***
Cream Cheese Pie **** (so big, we have half a piece in the fridge)

With a $10 off coupon that came in the mail just recently (nice timing, Discovercard!), our bill was only $56 and it was definitely worth it. The only thing I’d do differently next time is get the steak medium rare instead of medium because it was a bit dry near the edges. I was sharing with Joe, though, so I focused on the middle which was fantastic. No steak sauce needed. We’ll definitely be going back.

In all it was a good anniversary. We don’t go all out spending the money to celebrate. Like Joe told his coworkers – marriage is about every day.

Fall Weekend Activities

We took the kids to the pumpkin farm yesterday. Unlike last year, it actually felt like a Fall day. The weather was quite beautiful – sunny and cool, but not too cold. The kids are getting too old to go on most of the rides offered, although the boy did go on the Fun Slide and another ride. No one was interested in the haunted houses, so we all went on a short wagon ride “through the woods”. It was cute, albeit not very thrilling. And of course we had food. I think we spent just about the same time and money as last year. The girl and I got a walking taco just like last time too.

Cat eyes and mummy

Later in the evening, we all drove around St. Charles Illinois to check out the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour courtesy of the park district. There are far too many homes to see them all, but we spent extra time at our favorites. Before heading home we stopped at Baskin-Robbins for ice cream.

The Fall foliage hasn't quite peaked yet

This morning after dropping off the kids, Joe and I enjoyed breakfast at IKEA. You can’t beat their prices – $2 for scrambled eggs, bacon, potatos, and french toast sticks. We needed to kill time before heading over to Greene Valley Hill in Naperville. I had read about theold landfill that was open to the public as a scenic overlook. Scenic, it was, but it’s terribly windy today and up on that hill it was brutal, so I took a few quick shots and we left.

Sonny Acres photos @ Flickr
Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour photos @ Flickr

Fall Festivals

Wall-E at the Scarecrow Festival

I love Fall because of all the festivals, and my favorite one by far is St. Charles’ Scarecrow Festival. Yesterday we got there shortly after it opened at 9 am. We started on the side of the Fox River where the scarecrows are displayed and checked them all out, got some food, and then walked over to the pedestrian bridge that takes you over the river to check out the arts & crafts fair. We also got more food because between all the browsing and just hanging out we spent three hours at the fest. That’s how I know it’s a good one; we never spend that much time at a fest.

In fact, today we hit our town’s Heritage Fest and Chili Cook-Off and were there only about thirty minutes. Enough time to taste some chili, cast our vote, and take off. The problem with their fest is a) the turn-out is terrible and there’s three craft booths and b) they hold it at this park with a huge pond and there is geese poop EVERYWHERE. Also, it was much hotter outside today than it was yesterday and we were burning up.

So after that waste, we did some shopping. Not that we should be spending money, but our shredder took a crap, as did my old UPS for my computer, so we headed to Staples to replace them. We also did some grocery shopping, got some books from the library, went to the bank, etc. It was a busy afternoon running errands but we got a lot accomplished so I can’t complain. I just wish we had one more day before going back to work. The house still needs to be cleaned but it’s too late and I’m too tired to really care. Besides, it only gets dirty again.

Scarecrow Festival photos at Flickr