Dentist, Biking, and Early Father’s Day

Friday the certified Whirlpool repair service came by to replace the cracked piece on our dishwasher. All is now right with the world (well, at least as far as that is concerned). Their service is quite nice to deal with – they call the night before to give a window, and the guy calls the next morning when he’s about 20 minutes away. Everyone is really nice. It’s refreshing dealing with a company that respects the customer’s time.

Later in the morning we both went to the dentist for a cleaning. With our new Marketplace dental insurance we had to pay $15 each for the cleaning and x-rays which I guess isn’t terrible. I wasn’t even yelled at for not flossing!

We did a little shopping after the dentist and then had a late lunch at Chipotle. They have the best guacamole!

Mallard Lake Forest Preserve

Saturday we got up early and took the bikes to Mallard Lake forest preserve for an early morning ride. We arrived around 7:30 and rode for approximately 45 minutes. We would have gone longer had the trails not started getting so crowded. I was surprised by how many people were out fishing too.

We ran to Aldi’s for a few things later in the afternoon and got iced teas from Dunkin Donuts. I got peach and Joe got the green tea. This is the second time I’ve gotten one of their iced teas and I must say I’m not that impressed. Starbucks’ is way better, although far pricier. The DD teas are only $1 from 2-6 pm.

We spent the evening at my parents’ house celebrating Father’s Day. We had pizza and played Aggravation before leaving around 11 am. On the way home we were listening to the radio and I was surprised to come across Q101 which was playing all EDM as part of their Electric Playground series which airs from 10pm-2am every Saturday. I ended up downloading the IHeartRadio app when we got home and listening to more of the broadcast since I had trouble falling asleep.

10:15 Saturday Night

What were we doing at that moment? Driving back home from a late night pool party for B’s girlfriend (hence forth known as R) and watching The Cure via Periscope perform their second show at UIC Pavilion in Chicago. I must admit, initially I was bummed that we couldn’t attend the second show after how great Friday’s concert was, but after seeing the set list and hearing how even hotter it was inside the venue, I’m fine now, despite the fact that they played A Forest Saturday night just like I knew they would. At least I got to watch it live!

The pool party, which was from 8:15-10:15 pm and went by too quickly, was fun. We got to meet R’s parents for the first time and they met my parents for the first time ever as well. R’s dad was remarking to them how it was about time since B & R have been together five years now. Then Joe pointed out to me privately that our parents have never met and we’ve been together 15 years! Crazy, right? I guess that’s what happens when you don’t have a wedding (we eloped). Plus Joe’s parents moved to Arizona a few years after we got together. Why didn’t our families meet before then? Probably because we lived in a small apartment and never had both sides of the family over. Joe’s parents actually moved to Arizona a couple of weeks before we closed on our home or maybe a birthday party would have brought them together, although who knows with my mom’s sensitivities. As it is she’s only been to our house twice in the 11 years we’ve lived here. Oh well. It’s kinda funny, though.

Memorial Day Weekend

Friday we decided to see X-Men Apocalypse. It was ok, but not as good as Captain America – Civil War. Afterwards we went to Red Robin so I could get my free entree which was expiring on June 1st. I swear none of the people working there ever have any idea how the rewards work. Last time the waitress tried to tell me you had to buy two burgers to get one 50% off which was completely untrue. I had to read her the fine print on the email. This time the waiter told me the free entree never expires. Wrong again! On top of that, I had pulled up my account on the computer at home to make sure the free entree was showing next in line to be redeemed since the 50% off deal would also be in there, but the free entree was the only thing showing. I figured that was because we already took advantage of the 50% off and maybe you can only do it once. Yet once the waiter pulled up my info on the kiosk it was showing the 50% off deal. So while he and the manager tried to figure out how to switch it to the free entree, I logged into the website from my phone and was able to switch the order of the rewards since both were now appearing. Joe is skeptical but I swear they weren’t both there when I checked that morning! In any case, after that I was able to use my reward.

Rant time – Why can’t you adjust which reward you want to use directly from those kiosks? That’s so annoying! And why can’t they train their staff to handle these things? The guy was really nice and thanked me for teaching him something new (when I told him how I logged onto the site and was able to choose my reward) but come on. And lastly, are those kiosks really necessary? I’m supposed to tip someone for taking my order and checking on me once? They don’t bring out the food most times, and they don’t take your payment, so what the heck? Next thing you know there won’t be waiters at all and you’ll just have to get your food yourself. Yet the kiosk suggests I tip 20%. Oh, and I just loooove having to deal with those dirty touchscreens that probably haven’t been cleaned or disinfected ever. Ugh!

Anyway…

Saturday we took a trip to Costco to return the LED bulbs we purchased because it turns out they are too bright and the lighting from them couldn’t be less flattering. I’m not necessarily a fan of gazing at myself in the mirror to begin with but those LEDs really screwed with my self esteem. On top of that they had a low frequency hum that was driving me nuts. For now we’ll just stick with the CFLs.

The main reason for our visit to Costco was to enjoy the free samples. I like going around noon so I don’t have to eat lunch, plus I don’t want to buy anything in bulk there that I haven’t already determined is good, so the samples really help with that decision. People act like such animals, however! I’m standing there waiting for the lady to put out a tray of samples and the second she sets it down there are people behind me reaching over me to grab one. Calm your tits, people, it’s not that serious! I refuse to act like a barbarian just to try some brownies and ice cream. These people should be ashamed of their behavior. It’s why I refuse to go out on Black Friday. We are supposed to be an intelligence civilized species but some of us turn into animals when something is free. It’s disgusting.

Sunday we went to Target to take advantage of the free $10 gift card when you spend $50 on groceries. After dropping the food off at home we went to Savers since clothing and other items were 50% off. I’ve never seen it so busy! We arrived only 10 minutes after it opened and it was already packed. We actually had to stand in line for the dressing rooms, and being the bossy person I am I was directing the people behind me the proper way to form a line so we weren’t blocked foot traffic, or the ability for anyone to look at the row of purses nearby. Joe hates lines and actually suggested we just buy everything we had picked out (even though you can’t return stuff) but I said no way. Glad I did because I brought 8 items in to try on and only purchased 1 of them. He’s much better at picking out clothes; he bought both pairs of shorts he had chosen. I also got two fleece blankets for the rats since they are chewing up the ones I already have.

Sunday afternoon we headed to my parents house to celebrate Memorial Day early. B wasn’t there as he’s in Tennessee with his girlfriend. We mostly chatted but did end up playing Wits & Wagers which is a game I brought over. We left around 9 pm so we could be home by 10 and in bed by 11. I’ve been trying to go to bed at the same time every night even on the weekends which seems to help me sleep.

Monday we did some grocery shopping in the morning and spent the rest of the day sitting on the patio reading, snacking, and playing Disney Tsum Tsum on our devices (yep, I got Joe addicted to it now). Joe put up the big umbrella my mom gave us with the concrete stand which we had to keep re-positioning so we’d remain in the shade. Surprisingly, none of the neighbors had company over for the holiday so we were literally out there for 4-5 hours without being annoyed (if you don’t count the dog next door barking a lot since no one was home).

At one point one of the neighbors came over to gossip, which is amusing, since she’s deaf! She speaks, but it’s a bit difficult to understand her (although I seem to understand her better than Joe does). She also reads lips. It cracks me up that she knows more about what’s going on this neighborhood than we do, but then again we really don’t care either.

We grilled burgers for dinner on the George Forman since we ran out of propane and didn’t feel like running out to get more. We didn’t use buns since I’m trying to cut out unnecessary calories and lose weight. In fact, I had my burger wrapped in lettuce at Red Robin on Friday! I’ve also upped my usual 20 minute elliptical workouts to 30-45 minutes. Unfortunately my back has been bothering me a lot lately and working out makes it worse. I put arch supports in my workout shoes so I’m hoping I can continue to work out without any pain. That being said, today was $1.31 scoops at Baskin Robbins so I have to wrap up this entry to have some ice cream. Diet? What diet?

I Ate Too Much This Weekend & Hung Out With My Brother

Friday morning we HAD to stop at Target after the movie to take advantage of the junk food that was on sale. Seriously, the healthiest thing in our cart was the non-artificially sweetened ketchup! Doritos were $1.50 and there were cupcake flavored Oreos on clearance. It’s no wonder I can’t lose weight! Joe works out like a fiend so he can’t go hog wild on the weekends and he’s still lean and muscular. I hate that.

After dropping the groceries off at home we decided to catch a matinee showing of Angry Birds. I was really looking forward to seeing it but it was just ok. It’s funny how the two movies I was looking forward to were just average but I really enjoyed the one Joe wanted to see (Captain America Civil War). I guess I should let him choose all the movies from now on.

After putzing around the house a bit we headed to Hickory Hills to meet up with E and his girlfriend to have dinner. We’ve been trying to find places that have Groupons since I can get Groupon Bucks from our Discover card cash back. That way very little is spent out of pocket. We got a $40 Groupon for The Sock Bar and Grill so our bill was only $1.58; with tip our total OOP was $10. Not too shabby for four people to eat and Joe to drink a few beers. We probably spent closer to $20 though – since E was running late Joe and I played two games of darts while we waited. It brought back memories to when we first starting hanging out and would play darts fairly regularly at two specific sports bars. After dinner E and his girlfriend played a game of darts as well which we paid for and Joe had one last beer (which was only $1.50).

Saturday morning we got up early (6:30) and rode our bikes over to Camera Park and did a few laps. In total it was only 5 miles which is not much for Joe but was enough for me as I get used to biking. There’s a pond at the park that is full of wildlife. I stopped to rest while Joe did an additional loop and I spotted ducks, two egrets, and lots of songbirds. I think there was even a beaver dam. I plan to go back there soon with my camera.

Later Saturday morning we went to the JustPlay! festival in Carol Stream and walked around. Most of what they have is geared toward kids although there was a zip line that looked interesting but the line was too long and I’m afraid of heights so we decided to skip it. After tiring of all the people watching we headed to Walmart for a few things.

Back at home we were just lounging around enjoying the breeze from having all the windows open when my brother (B) texted to ask what we had going on. I invited him over and after some back and forth discussing specifics he eventually arrived at 4 pm. We played bags for awhile, mostly while Joe was picking up a deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s. We still had the $25 bonus certificate from December which is only good through June so might as well.

After dinner and chatting we watched a comedy special on Amazon Prime and Joe was falling asleep so he went up to bed. B and I stayed up to watch another special until I found myself dozing on the couch. It was midnight by that point. B decided to spend the night and we went to bed.

Sunday I was up at 6:30 again and after realizing I wasn’t going to be able to sleep any longer I played on my phone for awhile and then worked out on the elliptical for 45 minutes. B finally got up around 9:30 am and we all had breakfast while discussing what to do on such a beautiful day. We decided on visiting Northside Park in Wheaton because they have a zip line there. Unfortunately there were a ton of kids using it so we just walked around the paths there. We spotted an Eastern Kingbird (which I’ve never seen before and was only able to identify thanks to my trusty Merlin Bird ID app) and a Baltimore Oriole. We also saw some very small, yet very loud, frogs in one of the water logged areas. The park was looking real good and with all that wildlife I’m itching to go back with my camera.

After the park we went to Bulldog Ale House to take advtange of their 39¢ wings on Sundays. I always get the garlic parmesean. Joe got sweet chili and B got savory boubon and garlic parm. B also ordered some warm soft pretzels as an appetizer to share because he treated us to lunch which was real nice and appreciated.

We didn’t do much after lunch but hang out at the house. B and I played a game on the PS3 which I had borrowed from the library – The LEGO Movie Videogame – which was really cute. It’s not quite as fun to play as other LEGO games I’ve played but I liked how it follows the movie plot as it progresses. I don’t think B enjoyed it as much since he hasn’t seen the movie.

B took off at 6 pm and we spent the rest of the evening watching shows off the DVR since it’s going away on Tuesday. I was so sleepy that I went to bed at 9:30 even though it took me awhile to actually fall asleep. That happens a lot – I will be falling asleep on the couch but when I get upstairs I lay in bed awhile. Weird.

Mother’s Day

I was feeling rather bummed Sunday morning lying in bed thinking about how neither of my step-children ever acknowledge me on Mother’s Day (not that I would expect K to since she literally hasn’t spoken to either of us in nearly four years). Basically I was having a little pity party for myself. Then I walked downstairs and was greeted with some gifts from Joe.

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I should have taken a photo before moving everything, including the single red rose which I already put in water.

He also sent me a long touching email that brought tears to my eyes. I’m so lucky to have him and it really made me feel better. One of the things he said in his email was how I’ve been such a positive influence on his kids, and I hope I have been. I always took the high road even when I knew their mom was bad-mouthing us to them. I also tried my best to do things they would enjoy, and cook meals I know they would like. I don’t, nor did I ever, expect them to fawn over me or anything, but a little acknowledgement on this day would be nice. Ah well, you can’t have it all. I’m so glad I have such a wonderful husband who appreciates me and how I’ve treated his children at least.

Speaking of, Joe made us a nice big breakfast of pancakes (banana and chocolate chip, yum), scrambled eggs, and turkey sausage.

We headed over to my mom’s in the afternoon, arriving around 3 pm.

I invited my cousin over and she got there a bit before we did but no one answered the door when she knocked. That’s typical even though everyone was home as my mom was in the bathroom, my dad was in the back bedroom, and Brother # 1 was in the basement so no one could hear the door.

B (formerly known as Brother # 2) (who lives with his girlfriend at her parents house as of a few months ago) arrived a little later with some ribs and oven browns (potatos) from a place called Hog Wild. I’m not really a fan of ribs but these were really good! J (formerly known as Brother # 1) went out and got KFC too so we all stuffed our faces before going outside to play bags (aka cornhole). We also played What’s Yours Like? because that’s the game my mom chose for her special day.

At some point between games my mom opened her gifts. B gave her photos of him from his 30th birthday party and graduation. J gave her some DVDs including a season of The Middle. I wanted to get her some flameless candles she could use when decorating since she’s allergic to scented ones. Unfortunately everything I found was either ugly or had scent added so I amde her a gift instead:

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She seemed to like them so that’s good.

Since we arrived so early we were able to hang out a long time and still leave at a respectable hour (9:30 pm) so we didn’t end up going to bed at 2 am.