Category: Holidays

New Years Weekend

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Joe had Friday (12/30) & Monday (01/02) off from work for the holiday which was awesome. Friday morning we headed to Meijer to get some shopping done. Found some Bark Thins to try. The chocolate and gingerbread combo is an odd one, but I like it. Not so much that I’d go out of my way to buy it, but it’s definitely different. The more I eat it the more I like it.

Bark Thins

As I wrote in my previous entry, Friday afternoon was a puppy plate date at our house.

We spent a good portion of Saturday morning & early afternoon at the vet because Milo’s abscess filled up again. The vet actually shaved him and did an incision this time and put medicated gauze inside in an attempt to get it to heal and stop filling with fluid. He kept bleeding which is why we spent so much time there. He was even bleeding a bit after we got home but nothing that required an emergency vet visit. Joe took him back to the vet on Tuesday and it turns out it’s actually a cyst but the capsule is too large to surgically remove which means it’s likely to be a recurrent issue. I think he’s days are numbered, unfortunately.

Saturday after the vet Joe and I got into a bit of an argument because we were both feeling stressed out. We talked things through, however, and enjoyed the rest of the evening together snacking on the pizza we ordered and watching movies. I would not recommend either of them – the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film which was stupid and boring and The Mechanic Resurrection which was so bad we turned it off after a half hour. I ended up going to bed at 11 pm with a migraine only to be woken up at midnight by someone shooting off fireworks right outside the window.

Joe let me sleep in a little on Sunday morning while he drove down to my parents’ house to pick up brother J for a visit. Once they arrived we had some breakfast and headed to the mall for a little shopping. Originally we were going to get J after shopping but he sounded bummed when I said we would be coming later so we decided to bring him along. That was a mistake because he kept talking and I couldn’t really concentrate or enjoy browsing. I guess the upside to that is he saved me money, right? Although I did still get a few things – a wallflower and refill from Bath & Body Works and a Peppermint Bark votive and more Sugar & Spice tealights from Yankee Candle since they were half price at $5.

Bath & Body Works & Yankee Candle Stuff

I was surprised that my brother was so into smelling all the different candles at both stores. I guess he’s deprived of that at home where everything must be unscented due to my mom’s sensitivities.

I stopped by Aunt Annies to get pretzel bites (birthday freebie) which I shared with Joe and J.

We had lunch and played with Wookie, who really took to J quickly, once we got home. Then we ended up watching a Garfunkel and Oats special on Netflix and I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner while listening to a Bill Burr special the boys were watching.

After dinner we watch Storks which was way better than any of us expected. I’d really like to see it again, in fact.

Monday Joe made belgian waffles for us for breakfast. We also played Wii bowling; J could only get a strike when he was facing away from the screen which was hilarious. We went out to Half Price Books because there isn’t one where J lives and he enjoyed browsing their game guides. We had lunch at Costco before driving J back home. It was a nice visit.

Christmas

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The past few days flew by. Trying this half bullet half regular journal thing since I really don’t have the time for a full blog entry.

Thursday 12/22
Noon-2:30 – Christmas party @ work where I got “drunk” for half a lemon drop martini. Wasn’t even good but damn am I lightweight. I got a decanter and glasses during the grab bag. Too bad the decanted is cracked. Ugh. At least I got a decent Christmas bonus check and didn’t have to perform like a monkey for it unlike last year. Our table was all girls. No one got dessert. Apparently last year’s Nothing Bundt Cakes cupcakes didn’t go over well. I think what happened was we didn’t know we could eat more than one because I know everyone loved them. Party ended pretty early (before 2:30) so I couldn’t even finish my second drink (a raspberry vodka lemonade)

4:40 pm – Dentist appointment with a new person who cleaned my teeth. She either didn’t do as thorough of a job or is just faster because I was done in a half hour and it’s usually longer with my regular girl. Not that I’m complaining.

Friday 12/23
Early morning – Walmart to buy gifts for the kids.

Saturday 12/24 (Christmas Eve)
Morning – Baked cherry pie bars for Joe and I to enjoy on Christmas day.
Evening – Celebrated with my family from 5:20-9. Wasn’t too happy about a) having to leave Wookie at home and b) my mom waiting until we arrived to hop in the shower. Seriously? My parents gave us way too much money this year; queue feeling guilty for not even wanting to go. Only person who asked Joe about his new job was my dad and the only one to ask about Wookie was B’s girlfriend. Gee, wonder why I’m ready to move to Arizona?!?! J got me two CDs I’ve been wanting and I got two things off his Amazon wish list plus two poop emoji cups which I filled with holiday-themed fruit snacks I found at Aldi.

Sunday 12/25 (Christmas Day)
Early afternoon – Opened our stockings which was just candy we gave one another (and Joe got me the cutest Disney Tsum Tsum makeup bag).

Gifts From My Husband

Watched Suicide Squad which sucked. Also made a shank ham (purchased at Walmart) in the crockpot. Best way to make a ham! Made homemade mac and cheese.
Evening – Saw the lights in Aurora. Took Wookie who cried half the time in her crate and then puked on my lap shortly after we were done seeing the lights. Good times.

Monday 12/26
Morning – Went to Target for some last minute gifts for the kids where some lady ran over the back of my foot in the clearance holiday section. I’m SO sick of this happening, not to mention when I said “excuse you” she was pissy back toward me. Yea, sorry I don’t like people running over my feet over 30% off items. God forbid you a) say excuse me and b) watch where you’re going. Also visited Pier One but even at 50% everything was overpriced. Came home and baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, brownies, and made green bean casserole. Joe wrapped gifts and cleaned the house.

4-9 pm – The kids came over to celebrate Christmas with us and Wookie was absolutely terrified. So much so that when E approached her she peed. I was holding her at the time and she’s never peed in my arms before. Luckily it hit the floor and not my clothes due to the way I was holding her. It was shocking since she’s actually met E before but it was a month ago so maybe she didn’t remember him. Everyone wanted to play with her but she was so timid she wouldn’t come close enough to anyway, although by the time they left at 9 pm she was more comfortable at least sitting on the rug near everyone. She’d also sniff people’s hands or ES’ feet, but if they so much as moved an inch she’d run away.

Presents Under the Tree

As for the gifts – We got E a Deadpool hoodie (which he liked so much he put it on immediately), a Star Wars t-shirt, a Funko Pop of the robot from the latest Star Wars movie, as well as gift cards for Culvers, Half Price Books, Starbucks, and Target. For K we got some wax melts in her favorite scent (vanilla), some Pyrex containers, two cookie sheets, and some empty journals, as well as gift cards for Culvers, Half Price Books, iTunes, and Target. We got her boyfriend, ES, an iTunes card and some Dunkin Donuts coffee. Oh, and we also gave everyone some candy and K an oversized coffee mug with a stuffed bear in it. Everyone seemed to really like their gifts which was nice since we got nearly everything last minute. K’s boyfriend helped us with ideas for her since we weren’t sure what she was into these days. Joe was worried that getting her the cooking/baking stuff was lame but she really liked it and even mentioned to him later how excited she was about the Pyrex so that’s good. It was nice having everyone over. My social anxiety always has me dreading get togethers yet I always end up enjoying myself. Go figure.

Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving was pretty interesting this year because:

a) Brother B didn’t show up (I heard he was working but he’s dropped off the face of the earth recently so I’m not sure what he’s been doing).
b) My uncle showed up (can’t remember the last time that happened).
c) We brought the puppy over and my mom even let her (briefly) into the house!

We didn’t want to leave the puppy home alone for several hours so I asked my mom if we could bring her and set her up in the garage, so that’s what we did. We put her crate in there with blankets and toys, and put my heated foot mat underneath the crate and my free-standing oil heater (which I bought recently to use at work because it’s always so cold in there) near the cage but far enough away she couldn’t touch it. We also brought an iPod radio and I left The Cure playing in there. She was so good! We’d go out there every 1 to 1.5 hours to check on her and let her out to potty. The heaters helped keep her warm and even though she came from Arizona she seems to like the cooler temps anyway.

She was a nightmare on the car ride there, though. We put her in the small travel carrier we used when we flew home with her but unlike then she was not calm and she whined and tore at the carrier 45 minutes of the hour ride. Ugh! She was much better on the ride home, though. She whined for less than five minutes. I hope she gets used to it so we can take her on rides without her roaming freely in the car where she can hurt herself.

Incidentally, she’s lying on the back of my computer chair now chilling while I blog. Joe is out on a job interview (fingers crossed).

My Uncle B visited for well over an hour which is unusual for him. He has a house filled with animals (including a squirrel, a horse (there’s a stable on his property) and a wolf). His wife, who passed away last year, worked in a shelter and was a huge animal lover. He delighted in showing us recordings of his African Grey Parrot who loves to curse. It was pretty funny!

After my uncle left we played a few games and then my mom put a blanket down on the living room rug and we brought the puppy inside to play. My dad got down on the floor and played with her and Brother J was getting into it too. He’s not really a pet person (or a dog person since he had a bad experience with one when he was little) but by the end of the evening he was really digging her and even came outside to say goodbye to her. It was cute! I made my mom mad saying I am going to name her Princess Fluffybutt Fuckface the 3rd. Hehe

Oh, and we didn’t have her inside long because my mom started having breathing issues. I feel so bad for her that things bother her so quickly and easily. She actually used to have a dog before I was born – a St. Bernard named Diamond. He died when I was too little to remember him, although I have photos.

It sucks that we can’t bring the dog over when we visit unless we keep her crated in the garage. It would be so much fun to have her in the house, plus good for her to meet new people since when I took her on a walk after work the other day she got scared when she saw the mailman (cue stereotypical mailman joke).

Halloween

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Last night we had a total of 13 trick-or-treaters, all before 8 pm, although the last three were two girls who looked at least 15, if not older, with a very young boy who was under the age of five. Each girl had a big clear bookbag stuffed with candy which I found a bit annoying. The point isn’t to go around and get a ridiculous amount of candy, especially at their age. I don’t even think they lived in the neighborhood since I’ve never seen them before.

I turned Transylvania 2 on (available on Netflix) to try and get into the spirit but honestly, the holiday is more disappointing than anything. I love Halloween but it never turns out how I want it to – there aren’t many kids, no one invites us to any parties, and dressing up sounds fun until I contemplate the time, effort, and cost.

Needless to say, today I took down all the decorations so the house will at least look a little less cluttered.

Saturday Halloween Celebration

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Saturday we headed to my parents house to celebrate Halloween. It’s the second time we’ve been there in two weeks – our first visit was Friday the 14th to help J with his computer which wouldn’t boot up. We determined there was a problem with his hard drive so we ventured over to the dreadful Best Buy (not many options in the area where he lives) to buy a new one and reinstall Windows on it. That worked for a day or two but then he messaged me to say it wouldn’t turn on at all.

So Saturday we stopped at Micro Center to buy a new power supply, met up with K to have lunch at a place called Durbins in Palos Hills, and then went over to my parents to fix J’s computer. The new power supply solved the powering up issue but strangely the computer doesn’t like when we try to plug in the old hard drive. It keeps trying to boot from that Windows installation (which is corrupt) even though it’s not the main hard drive. So for now we removed it and my brother at least has a working computer until we figure out how to get it to see the old drive as secondary so we can determine whether we can recover his personal files.

My other brother, B, and his g/f came over as well and we had dinner and played Uno Attack. I brought Gizmo with us but kept him in the car and just checked on him from time to time since I needed to give him his evening dose of medicine. Luckily it was pretty nice out so the car was a comfortable temperature for him.