The weekend before last E came over and we ended up buying a second used drum set for the Xbox 360 (for him to take home). Only $10 after a 40% off coupon at Half Price Books. Interestingly enough, it was almost two years to the day when we purchased the first drum set from the same place and paid roughly the same.
Needless to say, we spent that Saturday playing Rock Band and Band Hero to make sure the drums worked. Bonus: we didn’t have to do it in the loft since there was one more open HDMI port on the tv downstairs to hook up the Xbox. I really suck at the drums (not coordinated enough) so I played guitar. I always forgot how fun those games are; yet we rarely play.
We didn’t have anything planned this past weekend so I ended up buying stuff I didn’t need (although I like it all). Boredom can be a dangerous thing!
I guess sometimes you just need to treat yo self. At least I used coupons. Two of the four pillar candles were free, as well as one votive and the votive holder. The lotion was on sale for $3 (normally $9.50) which is still pricey for what you get, but Joe loves that scent (Warm Vanilla Sugar) on me and I haven’t owned any since my niece bought me some as a Christmas present over a decade ago. This was my first purchase from Charming Charlie even though I’ve browsed the store several times in the past. I felt rather guilty splurging but I will be making some good money soon with a pet sitting gig I have lined up which should cover Christmas presents too. Woot!
We also took advantage of a good deal at Target and bought $150 worth of groceries for $110. We’ve got everything we need for Thanksgiving now. In fact, we need to stay away from Target altogether for awhile, at least when it comes to groceries. The pantry and freezer are at capacity!
Sunday I spent some long overdue quality time with the rats. I feel guilty that I don’t spend more time with them. Even working part time I feel like time is scarce to do everything I want.
The good news is the past two weeks or so I’ve had an unprecedented amount of energy. I’m not able to pinpoint where it’s coming from but it would be great if it lasts since I’m used to feeling fatigued.
Our Halloween morning was more exciting than our evening because we decided to visit a local gun range. We’ve both owned a handgun for awhile but unlike Joe, I’ve never actually fired mine. We also have a rifle, so we took all three guns with us.
Joe fired a few rounds from my gun just to make sure it wouldn’t jam and then let me take over. The second shot I made with my gun caused an injury to my thumb when the hammer struck it making it bleed. Between that and being overwhelmed with the mere act of shooting a gun, plus the noise in the range, I put it down and told Joe I was done. But after I watched him for awhile I decided to try it again. I want to know how to protect myself if the need ever arises whether that be the zombie apocalypse or an intruder.
After adjusting my grip, I was able to fire my gun without any further injuries. I enjoyed firing the rifle more, though. Here’s some of my targets from both my handgun and the rifle, which are 22 caliber:
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Here’s one of Joe’s from his gun which is a 9mm (I think):
He was impressed with my aim. What can I say, shooting up “ghosts” at Indiana Beach as a kid paid off. ;)
By the time we left the range I was much more comfortable with handling and shooting my gun. I also stopped jumping every time someone else fired their weapon. It was crazy crowded in the range too so I’m glad Joe booked the earliest slot.
After dropping our guns off at home we swung by Noodles & Company since we had gotten a BOGO coupon. We also stopped at Baskin Robbins for ice cream since all scoops are $1.31 on every 31st of the month.
We spent the rest of the day at home in anticipation of the trick-or-treaters. It was cold and rainy out, so we only got seven kids (three groups) which was lame. We also watched a movie Joe’s coworker recommended called Oculus. It was pretty good.
Next Halloween I’d rather be out of town. I love Halloween but it never lives up to the hype.
Friday was our ten year wedding anniversary so Joe took the day off work so we could spend it together. We didn’t have anything too exciting planned – just a relaxing day and then a nice dinner to celebrate. In the morning we participated in a gummy vitamin taste test and a research facility. It was about an hour of our time and we each made $25 so that was nice.
We tried a new Thai restaurant in Wheaton. Well, it was a Thai place before so I’m not sure if it’s new owners and the old owners changing the name and trying to garner new clientele, but it wasn’t that impressive.
After lunch we made a trip to the arboretum to check out the fall foliage.
We also stopped at a forest preserve called Churchill Woods but the weather was turning more grey so I didn’t get any good photos there.
We debated over whether to try a new to us, but expensive steakhouse, or stick with a place we knew. We opted for the latter and had it narrowed down between Claim Jumper and Lonestar, deciding on Lonestar which required us to drive out to Elgin. The meal was disappointing to say the least. My filet was way overcooked so I had to sit there watching Joe eat his (I insisted since I didn’t want it to get cold) while they prepared a new filet for me. The new one was at least cooked like I requested (medium), but I need A1 to make it tasty, which in my mind means the steak sucks (never needed A1 at Claim Jumper). I have no idea if this is a fluke, the location we visited sucks, or if Lonestar in general has gone downhill, but it ruined that chain for me. I’ve always loved their inexpensive food but I’ll think twice before ever eating there again.
We decided to get dessert and went to this Mexican ice cream place that had high ratings on Yelp. I didn’t care for it at all. My chocolate ice cream tasted like Hershey’s syrup. Ick. Needless to say the eating portion of our anniversary sucked.
Saturday we drove down to Oak Lawn to pick up E for lunch. We went to Culvers out in Orland Park. After dropping E off at home we hit the Walmart where I was finally able to find a pair of jeans in my desired size and color so I can wear my Cuddl Duds underneath them at work from now until April.
We had planned to attend a Halloween flea market Saturday night but changed our mind. It’s $7 to get in and all outdoors (for some reason I thought it was indoors) and it was drizzling. A few people online complained about the long lines last year which really discouraged us. So we went home and binge-watched some more Modern Family instead.
Sunday we decided to visit Lincoln Park Zoo. They had been bragging on their social media sites that the two red panda cubs born four months ago had just made their public debut and encouraged everyone to come visit them over the weekend. So we came, but we didn’t see squat!
We arrived to the zoo early and found free parking on Cannon Dr. which was awesome. The zoo gates were open already so we walked over to the red panda exhibit but it was empty. Thinking perhaps they wouldn’t be out until the official 10 am zoo opening, we checked out some other animals, including the lions where I got some great photos.
We made our way back to the red pandas just before 10 am. By then a crowd had formed but we were able to secure a spot in front just to the left of the exhibit. I had just learned that my SLR’s battery was on one bar so I vowed not to use the camera again until the red pandas came out. In the meantime, two cute little Eurasian Lynxs were let into their exhibit to our left. I wanted to get a photo and/or video of them but didn’t want to miss out on the pandas, so I reluctantly waited some more.
At some point after 10 am a zookeeper came into the exhibit to prepare it for the red pandas. Why they didn’t do that before the zoo opened, I don’t know. We waited almost an hour before an employee informed us that one of the panda cubs wasn’t ready to come out yet and they weren’t planning on opening the exhibit until he was and had no idea when that would be (and their indoor habitat is not viewable to the public). By this time the lynxs were back in their non-viewable to the public den so I missed that opportunity as well. To say I was disappointed, not to mentioned pissed off, is an understatement. Sorry, but I think if you’re posting all over social media asking the public to visit your zoo to see the pandas you better damn well put the pandas somewhere they can be seen. Seriously!
We spent another two hours at the zoo checking out the rest of the exhibits and returned to the red panda one several times but they were never out.
Finally we gave up and drove to Rodgers Park to this great Thai place to have lunch.
Monday I had an early doctor appointment to go over some stuff and she sent me for some routine blood work.
Saturday morning we got together with friends to check out St. Charles’ Scarecrow Festival. It was the perfect day weather-wise. It was cool in the morning but the sun was out so it wasn’t too hot or cold.
First we had breakfast at this fabulous restaurant near the festival. I got the same thing as last time – Hawaiian eggs benedict. Joe and our friends each had a skillet. Both men ordered bloody marys too.
After breakfast we browsed the scarecrows before the festival officially opened. I didn’t bring a camera because I wasn’t sure whether I would take any photos, but I couldn’t resist, so I used my iPhone. The photos with the sun behind me came out fine but the other ones leave a lot to be desired. Ugh, I hate the iPhone camera because it’s so inconsistent in quality!
We left the festival temporarily to check out a Ferret show at the Kane County Fairgrounds (our friends are huge ferret fans and own one). They had some really cute hammocks for sale so we got two for the rats. One is a big Halloween-themed cube hammock which I put in Milo and Gizmo’s cage. They love it.
After seeing everything at the show, we headed back to the festival so we could check out the craft booths. By this time it was close to noon so the parking garage we had used earlier that morning was completely full. We drove around the area for awhile and stumbled upon Delnor park which turns out is only a few blocks walk to the area where the crafts were. Score!
We spent some time checking out all the booths together. I bought a chocolate covered pretzel to snack on since I find them irresistible. We also spent some time checking out their petting zoo from a distance. They had a very interesting collection of exotic animals including a kookaburra and wallaby, but we had difficulty identifying one of the animals hopping around. The first thing that came to mind was jackalope which is funny because they don’t really exist. But this thing looked like a cross between a rabbit and a deer which is why my mind went there.
At this point, a stranger who had apparently been listening to our conversation, stuck his phone in my face to “prove” to me it was a capybara. I told him I’ve seen those at a zoo before and they were way larger than this, but he insisted, claiming it was a baby. Whatever. Mind your own business, dude! Finally, I got the attention of one of the animal handlers to ask her what the creature was and it turns out it was a pantagonian cavy.
We were pretty hungry after all that walking around, but the one thing that is not impressive at this fest is the food, so we went to Beef Shack for lunch. It was such a beautiful day we sat outside to enjoy our food. And we officially ruined Portillo’s beef for our friends by introducing them to Beef Shack, haha! Their beef sandwiches are the best!
On our way back home (we picked up our friends at their house that morning so we could take one car), I pointed out to our friends that Fermilab was nearby if they ever wanted to see the bison, so they asked if we could stop then. Unfortunately, the bison were way out in the field so it was hard to see them. We did see a hawk, though, and some killdeer (which is the only place I’ve yet to see these birds).
When we got back to our friends’ place we went inside for a bit to talk and play with their cute ferret. Overall it was a very long, but fun, day. There are very few people I could spend that much time with but even so, I did have a headache and we used the rest of the evening to decompress by watching tv. It has become very clear to us that while we do enjoy time socializing, we are very much introverts who could not do it two days in a row.
Which is why on Sunday we renewed our Costco membership and did some grocery shopping before the Bears game and spent the rest of the day inside. Since it was what I’m guessing the last warm day of the season, we opened the windows to get some fresh air. It was nice to walk around barefoot in the house; I predict I won’t be able to do that again until spring. For dinner I made beef stroganoff in the crock pot and apple muffins for dessert, both of which were delicious. It was a nice relaxing end to our weekend together.
Last night we decided we should try to eat somewhere on property that was highly rated, so I booked a reservation for the Kona Cafe at Polynesian Village Resort for breakfast. We enjoyed their famous Tonga Toast before making our way over to Epcot.
I didn’t think we’d be at the park long, but we spent nearly six hours there. I was so happy the Seas area was open since it was under refurbishment last time we visited ten years ago.
We went on the Nemo & Friends ride first which was cute, but kinda boring, although I did like how they incorporated the animated characters in with real live fish. I felt bad for the solitary dolphin swimming in a fairly small tank with not much in it, though. That can’t be good for the animal’s mental health. We also saw a manatee and some sea turtles.
We had fast-passes for Test Track so we went on that next. We immediately noticed it was very different from when we rode it in 2005. The newer version is faster which made it much more fun than before.
Our next stop was to see Captain EO starring Michael Jackson (and Angelica Huston, which I totally forgot about). It was popular when I was a kid but was removed in the late 90’s. It was then brought back after Michael Jackson passed away. It was definitely cheesy, but I’m glad I got to see it again. It would have been nicer if the people sitting behind us didn’t feel the need to discuss the showing in great length during the show, though. So rude! I almost turned around and said something. Seriously, not only is that rude, but you’re missing what’s being said when you’re talking so much. Ugh!
I like the area around Captain EO and Figment because it’s where the jumping fountains are located. I could have sworn you used to be able to walk on the area where the water comes from, but pictures from this awesome website called Yesterland that shows comparisons of different Disney theme park areas over the years has proved my memory incorrect.
After hanging around awhile to get a picture of the monorail, we made our way to Epcot’s World Showcase area.
It was the first day of the International Food & Wine Festival and it was crowded. We got a small lobster roll and beef slider at the Hops & Barley booth. The lobster roll was listed as a festival favorite but neither of us enjoyed it very much. The beef slider was very good, however.
Shortly after we ate it began to rain. We camped out in a gift shop while the worst of it passed over. Then we went on the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in Mexico before making our way out of the park.
Once we made it back to the hotel we decided to hang out in the pool for a bit before it started thundering. We were stuck in our room for a bit waiting for the rain to pass and getting increasingly hungry since the small lobster roll and beef slider were all we had eaten that afternoon.
It finally seemed to be letting up so we made our way to Downtown Disney (recently renamed Disney Springs) in search of food. The area is under construction but we found a parking garage which was really cool because it has censors over each parking space. When you enter the garage it tells you how many open spots there are on each level, and there’s a spot counter for each row as well. The actual boardwalk area of Disney Springs is rather dark and narrow so it felt claustrophobic since it was so crowded. They really need to add some additional lighting.
We had a heck of a time picking a place to eat. I had a coupon for Earl of Sandwich but we weren’t sure we wanted to spend our last night of vacation eating sandwiches so we kept looking. I told Joe I could go for either a steak or a burger, so we started checking out the menus. The burger at The Rainforest Cafe seemed overpriced so we decided on Fulton’s Crab House even though their filet is $47! The problem was when we walked in the atmosphere was icky. I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but for those prices I was expecting it to look nicer inside. I told Joe what I was thinking and he said, “let’s keep looking then” and we left.
Our next attempt was at The Boathouse. We were being led to a table right by where an extremely loud live band was playing, and I asked the hostess if she could seat us away from them. She agreed, but instead of taking us to any of the tables deeper into the restaurant, she led us to a table that was just a little further from the band. WTF??? As we were sitting there trying to speak to one another by screaming, I told Joe I couldn’t take it and wanted to leave. Luckily we hadn’t placed our orders yet, and didn’t touch the bread plate, so he said, “lets go”. I was sure he was going to kill me at that point, but he didn’t care. I can’t stand really loud music when I’m trying to dine and he agreed it was annoying. I guess that’s what happens when you’re trying to find food at 9:30 pm on a Friday night. We passed through their little food truck area and there were only two trucks even though four are listed on their website. We joked that’s one more truck than at the food truck “festival” we attempted to attend last weekend when E was over. There was literally one truck, and it was an ice cream one! But I digress.
At this point we were both getting frustrated and starving. House of Blues was too loud too, so we decided to leave. I consulted Yelp and found a place called Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Orlando a short drive away where we finally enjoyed some burgers and a monster turtle sundae. By the time we got back to the hotel we were exhausted and got to bed around midnight.
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