Month: August 2018

Doggie Daycare & Shopping

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Friday (8/24) I took Wookie to a local doggie daycare/boarding facility called Camp Ruff It for an evaluation and a half day of daycare. It was only $5 with the coupon I had instead of $20. She was, as expected, very shy and reserved according to her report card. They did mention she crawled into one of the workers laps to give her kisses. I’m sure she was looking for reassurance since she still isn’t convinced other dogs aren’t ready to attack her at a moment’s notice. She loves to play and chase certain little dogs at the dog park, but she gets scared when they try to do the same. I feel so bad that we didn’t properly socialize her when she was a puppy. I’m sure a lot of this could have been avoided. In any case, I’ll be bringing her back to daycare on Labor Day for another half day so she can hopefully become used to the facility and the workers so we have somewhere to leave her when we go out of town. Our friend can dogsit but she also watches other dogs so often she’s not available. She also isn’t a neat freak like I am so I’m worried Wookie would get into something on her floor and eat it since I noticed some stuffing from toys lying around on the floor the last time we visited her. Plus she’s forty minutes away from us and works during the week so Wookie wouldn’t be under supervision 24 hours a day like at this facility. That being said, I don’t want her to be stressed out the entire time we’re gone so I’m hoping this place works out. I had hoped my brother could watch her when we went out of town but since we haven’t had any opportunity to have her and his dog spend time together I’m not sure that would work out. It’s a shame since we wanted to go out to Indiana in a few weeks and their home would be on the way out there.

Since it was so hot this weekend we took advantage of Joe’s free movie ticket (for his birthday) to go see The Meg on Saturday (8/25) and had the entire theater to ourselves. The movie wasn’t bad and seeing Jason Statham shirtless is always a treat. ;)

After the movie we went to a store called At Home to look at fall decor. I didn’t see anything worth getting and was more than a little annoyed that they were playing Christmas songs over the loudspeaker. Seriously? It’s August! I’ve complained about this before, and I’m going to do it again – I hate that everyone gets a hard on for Christmas months in advance of the holiday. It’s ridiculous how much time and energy is spent on a single holiday. It makes me dislike it more every year. I’d be so much happier if we could start talking Christmas after Thanksgiving and stop talking about it once January rolls around.

After shopping we got some food from Just Kabobs and I ended up taking a nap on the couch when we got home. I woke up with a huge headache and got really nauseated for some reason. I pushed through it to take Wookie to the dog park since we knew it would be too hot to go again for at least a few days and ended up feeling better after that.

Joe had to work Sunday (8/26) so I did my usual Monday cleaning then and once he got home around noon we went to Downers Grove to check out a new restaurant called City BBQ. Joe had a beef brisket sandwich and fries and I had plain beef brisket with mac & cheese and cornbread. The beef was good but I wasn’t really in love with any of the sauces and I could have done without the sides. Joe’s sandwich was pretty awesome, though, so I think we’d go back just for that. On our way out we ordered a peach cobbler to go and the woman told us it was on the house which was so nice. Normally it’s $5 which for the size and how delicious it was is totally worth it. I’ve been working on it here and there since it’s over 1000 calories; I definitely didn’t want to eat it all in one sitting.

Monday (8/27) morning I went to Savers and scored a nice long flowy purple tank top which will go great with my black capri leggings, a pink/purple/grey flannel (I so missed having a soft comfy oversized flannel), and a nice polyester blanket to add to the couch. The total was $8.24 for all three things; you can’t beat that. Some seasonal pillow cases I had ordered on Amazon (which shipped form China) came in too.

I do like them, although the shiny/slippery material kinda throws me a bit, and they are super white which I wasn’t expecting. I plan to switch them out each season just for a nice decorative touch.

Driveway Saga Resolution

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I don’t think I ever wrote an update about the driveway. Apparently the inspector kept failing the apron preparation which was preventing the concrete company from completing the job. I went back and forth in email and on the phone with them, the village, and our property manager since no one was keeping residents in the loop regarding the delay. It was incredibly frustrating because everyone was blaming everyone else; meanwhile nothing was getting done and residents were stuck in the middle without a driveway or the ability to use their garage.

The work was finally approved, supposedly by a different inspector, and the concrete was poured on July 18th. The work began on June 11th so that’s 38 days later and 40 days before we could use our driveways because they kept the driveway blocked from being driven on for a few days after the fact to allow it to cure (and we actually waited a couple of days longer to ensure it was fully dried). That’s 6 weeks we all had to park on the street for something that should have taken no longer than 3 weeks according to their schedule.

What really gets me is had they ripped up the apron at the same time as the driveways it would have all been complete within a week! I still don’t understand why they chose to rip them up at different times particularly because they didn’t do that on any of the subsequent work they’ve done in the subdivision. I guess we were just “lucky”. Ugh, I’m just glad that’s behind us now.

Change of Scenery

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Joe and I are edging closer and closer to moving out of this godforsaken state. Between brother B feeling too ill to ever really get together, my parents and other brother acting like driving an hour to my place is like visiting Siberia, and Joe’s kids always being too busy to barely acknowledge texts, let alone get together in person, we’re (sadly) running out of reasons to stay here. Yes, we have some friends, but even they aren’t available as often as we’d prefer.

Plus we’d really like a house and it’s far too expensive here. We could afford it, but a) we like living below our means and b) we don’t really like the idea of paying this state any more money since it’s so corrupt. Also, a change is in order. It feels like time is passing by so quickly with the same old routine & scenery year after year.

The problem is deciding where to go. Right now the #1 city on our list is Fisher’s Indiana which was rated the #1 city to live in according to Money Magazine last year. The city is booming yet home prices (and more importantly, property taxes) are relatively low. We could get a beautiful larger-than-we-need new construction home for around $300k, or an older home, but still built within the past 10 years, for between $200k and $250k, and the annual taxes would only set us back between $2k-$3k instead of $12k here. We could still visit family a few times a year since it’s only a three hour drive from Chicago too. Plus we’d still experience all the seasons which, even though I abhor winter, I would miss spring and fall. While I’d consider living in Arizona part-time when we’re retired, I really don’t want to live in the desert full time. I need green grass and trees to be happy, plus I like cloudy and rainy days which you rarely see out there.

Tinted Crosstrek

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On Joe’s birthday I took my car to Chicago Auto Pros in Glen Ellyn to have the windows tinted. I ended up getting 35% all around which, if the back windows weren’t already dyed (not actually tinted to block UV or heat), is considered legal in Illinois. As such, technically the front windows should only be 50% but it wasn’t very dark so we agreed to take our changes with the 35%. I drive past a LOT of police officers on a near daily basis (definitely daily on my work days) so this make me a bit nervous but I was told they typically don’t pull people over JUST for suspected tinting violations. Since I’ve never been pulled over for any reason I’m not terribly worried, but the shop guys did say if I am just to roll down the front windows as the whole tinting law is so police can see into the vehicle when approaching it.

So I’m a bit of a rebel, you could say. Or a baller, as my friend Angela on Facebook remarked on the photo of my car with the new tint applied.

Oh, two things that happened in regards to the tinting that irked me:

1) They asked for a tip when we were paying via their iPad. They wanted $60 but we only gave $30. Then I was kinda mad we gave anything at all. Since when is that kind of work considered tip-worthy? It was $450 as it was!

2) A few days later it was raining and I went to use the back wiper and they had placed it on the incorrect side so it started swiping the hatchback instead of the glass. I had to take it in the following day (after Joe’s colonoscopy) for them to fix it (which was quick at least).

Three Weekend Catchup

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Friday (7/27) we saw Shinedown and Godsmack live. I was wise to the venue’s shenanigans so I hid two extra water bottle caps in my bag so when they confiscated the ones on our bottles we were able to reseal them and put them back in our bags so they’d stay colder. We had a quick dinner at home before leaving but stopped at Target by the venue to grab a few snacks which we enjoyed during the show. We had seats but didn’t care for their placement so headed up to the lawn area like last time. The bands were much louder this time around so it was a good call. Shinedown put on a good show even though the actual sound seemed a bit distorted. Godsmack was much better, though! I really enjoyed their energy and wasn’t even mad that (I think) they played Whatever twice since I love that song. I’ve been trying like hell to find either a review or a recording of the full show to validate this, but haven’t had any luck. We did take off during the last song so we could get out of the parking lot with ease. There were definitely twice as many people in attendance than when we saw Poison but luckily even though the far away bathroom had a line it moved swiftly. They have about 40 stalls in there with workers directing you to open ones by calling out the number painted on the outside of the door which is very helpful to keep things moving. Standing on the lawn made my feet sore, though, but the show was too good to sit through.

Saturday (7/28) we relaxed since Sunday (7/29) was Pierogi Fest day! We picked up my brother around 10:30 and made it to the fest right around official opening. We headed straight to Dan’s Pierogis like we always do and spent about 25 minutes in line. We shared some sweet cheese plus Joe got a meat one and I got cherry. He let me have a bite of the meat and I liked it so I’ll be getting some of those too next year and skipping the cherry. I didn’t get as many piergois as I normally can eat because I was saving room for a taco pierogi from the Mendoza truck, only to find out they no longer make them because the owner sold the truck but not the machine that makes the pierogis. That was a pretty huge disappointment. Joe got a polish dog, J got a corndog, and we shared some mini donuts that could have been better (first time even getting mini donuts that were not that good). We ended up at the White Castle just outside the festival grounds to get a couple of sliders before dropping J off and heading home. So I guess this year was a bit of a flop, although the weather wasn’t terribly hot like most years and despite the crowd being bigger (we usually go on a Friday) we were able to find parking nearby and a place to sit as long as we shared a table with others. So all in all not bad, but because of the timing we had to skip the Milwaukee Brew Fest this year. It would have been too hectic plus there wasn’t anyone to watch Wookie. That’s probably the only one thing I don’t like about having a dog – not being able to just do stuff without worrying about who is going to keep an eye on her. We let her roam the downstairs when we’re not home and she pretty much just sleeps the entire time but I would feel awful leaving her home alone any longer than 8 hours at a time.

This weekend was spent with Joe’s dad who is visiting from Arizona. Joe picked him up on Thursday (8/2) after work while I was at home tidying up the house and preparing a surprise dessert – chocolate peanut butter pie – which ended up being a hit with both of them. I also made beef stroganoff for dinner.

Friday (8/3) was their birthdays so we went out for breakfast, drove around the arboretum for a bit (his dad cannot walk long distances), and stopped for gelato on the way home. We originally planned to have Red Robin for dinner but his dad slept so late (he takes daily naps) we decided to order deep dish from Lou Malnatis instead.

Saturday (8/4) we went to IKEA for breakfast and spent a little time in the pool (his dad just sat in the shade). After Joe’s dad’s nap we went to Red Robin for dinner.

Sunday (8/5) we had a light breakfast at home because we had lunch at The Pit Ribhouse in Hickory Hills at 1 pm. The kids both brought their significant others which was fun. They were late to arrive (no surprise there); E and his girlfriend (who we met for the first time) had to leave early as it was so they didn’t get to visit too long.

After lunch we dropped Joe’s dad off at Joe’s aunt’s house. We visited for a bit and fixed her computer’s wifi connection so Joe’s dad could get on Facebook. We also left with two pieces of homemade pineapple upside-down cake which we didn’t get to enjoy right away since Joe wasn’t able to eat on Monday due to a colonoscopy on Tuesday. He ended up doing the same prep I did since it was cheaper than the prescription. The doctor said the prep was good and he didn’t have any polyps. We’re both free from this nonsense for five years which is good since it’s going to cost us about $1200 out of pocket, thank you crappy insurance. It used to be only $250 through Blue Cross Blue Shield but they haven’t been an option with Joe’s recent employers. We have Aetna which I don’t like as much.

Friday (8/10) I did a deep clean downstairs since I hadn’t cleaned in almost two weeks! I also reorganized the laundry room and guest bathroom cabinets. Once Joe got home we headed out to Dollar Tree and Costco. We decided to get a couple of hot dogs before shopping and just as we were finishing up I spotted friends of ours in the checkout line. That’s the second time in about two months that we’ve run into them at Costco. We chatted for a bit and then did our shopping. We also took Wookie to the dog park that evening. I got the pass last month since it’s half price after July 1st.

Saturday (8/11) we had breakfast with Joe’s dad, aunt, and cousin and then visited with his dad and aunt at her house for a bit since his dad was flying home that afternoon.

We decided to visit Lake Katherine and The Little Red Schoolhouse before heading home. I brought my camera and got some nice shots. We didn’t stay long at either location very long since it was around noon and already very warm and humid outside.

That evening we took Wookie to the dog park again where she almost played with this cute white Bischon named Luna. She (Luna) was egging Wookie on but I think she’s still not sure how to dog. That’s totally our fault for not socializing her enough as a puppy. I hope after more trips to the park she’ll figure it out because I think she’d enjoy herself if she realized the other dog isn’t trying to hurt her. I plan on taking her to a local daycare next week after our neighbor sang its praises. It would be good to have a place close by we can take her in a pinch. Their rates are not much different from what my friend charges and Wookie could play with other dogs (assuming she wants to do so).

Sunday (8/12) we ran more errands and I got a bunch of different colored leggings from Walmart as well as two shirts that go well with them (and are long enough to cover my crotch which is perfect for wearing leggings outside the house).

I’m also still dealing with the whole glasses/frames fiasco. I really wish my eyes didn’t get so dry and itchy with contacts so I wouldn’t even need to worry as much about finding a comfortable pair of frames.