Category: Friends

Memorial Day Weekend

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Saturday (5/26) we hosted a game night with our friends B, C, and T. B&C are married and big Disney fans like we are so there was no shortage of conversation topics. Interestingly enough, Joe was having a convo with C and the same time I was speaking to B and we were essentially talking about the same stuff! I learned they watch the same podcast as I do of this couple who live in Florida and have season passes to all the Disney and Universal Parks. Too funny. The last time this group got together was in May 2013 so it’s been a long time! We had way too much food (veggie tray, chips, tortilla chips, frito dessert, and brownies) so half didn’t get touched. B&C brought a nice party tray with salami, cheese, and crackers plus an angel food cake. Will need to make a point not to go overboard when only inviting 3 people over next time! The evening was fun, though, even if we only played one game – Taboo – because we were talking too much. Everyone left a bit before midnight and the night flew by.

Sunday (5/27) – Joe washed our cars while I washed two welcome mats, then we organized some of the garage, and I organized the spare bedroom and moved perishables in there from the garage. We were dying from the heat after that and later in the evening we visited the pool which had just opened for the season the day before. Not to self – just before 6 pm is the perfect time for a swim because it’s not very crowded. We actually had the pool to ourselves at one point and this male ducking kept flying overhead. I made a joke how he was scoping out the pool and no sooner had we gotten out did he and his wife come flying into the area, landing in the pool. The lifeguard tried chasing them off but they refused to leave until some kids got in the pool.

Monday (5/28) – We got up early to beat the impending heat (it had been in the 90s for days) to scope out the location for a wedding I’ll be photographing on Saturday for a friend. I’m really not thrilled about doing it because people photography is not my jam but it’s low-key and I’ll make some extra money so at least there’s that.

Afterward we went to Savers where Joe got some shorts and I got a green tank top, a white tank top with green and purple pattern on it, and a Blackhawks t-shirt. We also went to Kohls and I ended up getting a pair of grey addidas running shoes, grey shorts, and two Marvel t-shirts – Deadpool and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

For lunch we ended up grilling a rack of pre-seasoned ribs we picked up from Costco on Sunday. They came out amazing and were only $10! So that might become a new Memorial Day tradition instead of burgers and hot dogs. I’m not a huge rib fan but these were so good I wouldn’t mind having them a few times a year, in fact.

Past Two Weeks Wrap Up

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Saturday (4/28) we went to my parents’ for the first time this year to celebrate brother J’s birthday. My other brother couldn’t make it due to health reasons. Beforehand we stopped at the mall so I could exchange a Christmas gift I didn’t want. I could only get store credit due to not having a receipt, so I just got the following items which added up almost perfectly to the amount of the original gift.

Pictured: Chinese medicine/stress balls, elephant ring holder, lemon essential oil, and coconut incense.

I ended up getting a cute video game related gift bag at Dollar Tree for my brother’s gifts. I got him a can of pizza Pringles, a t-shirt, and a $25 Amazon gift card. He gave me grief about the card but last time I got something off his wish list he had purchased it himself so I was afraid to run into that scenario again (plus the thing I really wanted to get him wasn’t in stock).

He ended up giving me two belated birthday gifts that were delivered after we last saw one another. He knows me so well.

Pictured: Sarah’s Scribble’s book and Lego Batman on DVD.

My mom also gave us some belated Easter items including treats for Wookie. I was surprised she knew Wookie liked those. Apparently she saw them on Wookie’s Instagram feed.

Sunday (4/29) we had planned to organize the garage but I just wasn’t motivated due to how cold it was outside, so Joe worked on his car and I went through my marbles, candle holders, and some clothes and ended up with two boxes worth of stuff to donate.

Monday (4/30) I had lunch with my friend, C. When Joe got home from work he filled the bird feeders and planted some flower seeds we picked up at Walmart now that it’s FINALLY getting warmer out. I was also able to wear the capri leggings I bought months ago from Walmart. They are so comfy! Glad I got three pairs.

Before going to bed we used some gorilla glue to seal a gap in the dining room floor. A bunch of gaps keep opening up and it’s been driving us crazy. Hopefully our little experiment works and we can fix all the gaps once and for all.

This Saturday (5/4) was Tails on The Trails at the arboretum so my friend and her dog joined us. Even though we got there earlier than last time the line was still insane! People sure love their dogs!

We ended up spending approximately three hours there including eating a picnic lunch we packed. My friend spotted a tick crawling on Joe’s shirt (thank god it was light grey so it could be seen). That freaked us out and we checked ourselves when we got home to ensure we didn’t have any hitchhikers.

The next day we packed another picnic lunch and took Wookie to a park for a nice long walk.

Today I went to Savers looking for some dresses I can wear with my new capri leggings that I got from Walmart recently, but didn’t have any luck. I did end up with this Star Wars t-shirt (for only $1.25) and a sweatshirt ($5.50) so it wasn’t a total bust.

I almost got a small wristlet wallet and a makeup pouch but I really didn’t need either so I put them back.

Our accomplishments this past week:
Joe planted some wildflowers in the wood planter on the patio. They are already sprouting!
I used wood glue to seal the joints in the dining room floor that keep coming apart lately.
We dropped three boxes of donations off at Savers.
I cleaned the dining room and front door windows.

Game Night & Easter Decorating

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Friday (3/16) evening we hosted a game night for our friends Joe met through a former job. Everyone came over at 6 pm but we didn’t start playing any games until almost 9 pm and with the alcohol some people couldn’t really concentrate to play adequately. So next time we need to play first, then sit around and chat. Don’t get me wrong, it was still fun, but I was bummed we didn’t get to play as many games as I would have liked.

Saturday (3/17) was St. Patrick’s Day so we made corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot. It came out delicious, as always! Wookie spent most of the day sleeping. I think she was exhausted from not napping at all the entire time our friends were over. Plus we took her to Petsmart and Petco to look for an Easter outfit now that we’ve figured out a way to put clothes on her without her trying to bite us (basically we only put them on when she’s getting ready to go for a walk so they have a positive association with them). They didn’t have anything, though, so we left empty handed.

We did grab some McDonald’s for lunch, though. They had a BOGO offer for the fish sandwiches and we needed our annual Shamrock shake. It was rather disappointing, however. I think I’d rather try a mint shake elsewhere in the future.

Sunday (3/18) we tried Taco Bell for breakfast and it was pretty decent. I tried three of their $1 menu items:

Sausage Flatbread Quesadilla
Hash Brown
Mini Skillet Bowl

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the first two, but really enjoyed the bowl. It was larger than I expected for the price. I would definitely get that again.

We ran some errands including stopping at Visionworks in the mall so I could pick out some glasses. I need new ones since I rarely wear my contacts lately thanks to my eyes always feeling too dry. Plus I’ve gotten to that age where I need reading glasses if I wear my contacts which defeats the purpose of contacts anyway. Ugh! I made an appointment to come back and have an eye exam first and then I will order the glasses. I made note of the two pair I’m interested in, however, and they are both kids frames because I have a very small head and adult glasses are too big and tend to slide down my nose.

Before leaving the mall we stopped inside the arcade and I spotted this huge Disney Tsum Tsum game. How cute!

We also went to Half Price Books since it was 50% off coupon day. Joe got two video games and I got a new board game called Split Decision.

Today (3/19) I had to get some blood drawn for some annual testing and afterwards went to Hobby Lobby to look at Easter decor. Two different Instagram accounts had these cute little carrots in their post and when I asked where they came from they directed me to Hobby Lobby. So I picked up one set but now am wishing I had gotten two since they were only $1.80 for a three-pack (normally $3) since the Easter stuff was 40% off. I’m contemplating driving back over there to get more but I am battling laziness at the moment. I also got a pink ceramic bunny for $3.59 (normally $6). I ended up rushing out of there when I realized I had left my phone in my car. At first I freaked out not knowing where my phone was at all, but one it dawned on me I had left it sitting under the radio (because I had used the navigation to find my way from the lab to the store), I got super anxious thinking someone would peek in the car, see the phone, and break in to steal it. It took forever for me to calm down after that. Yay, anxiety!

I also stopped at Michael’s and got a couple of things, one of which I’ve decided to take back – a bouquet of fake flowers – since it’s “shedding” little plastic pieces all over and annoying me. Plus Wookie will just eat them if they get on the floor so they aren’t worth keeping.

Once I got home I pulled all my Easter decor out and decorated the house. I have a bunch of things I’m going to get rid of that I never use that I put in a box in the garage which will make room for my newer pieces. Here’s how everything turned out:

The bunny on the left is from Hobby Lobby, the clear cake stand is from Target, the doily is from Michaels ($1.50 but got it for $0.75), the bunny is from Hallmark from many years ago, and I’m not sure where the larger bunny on the far right came from since I’ve had it so long.

The Easter sign is from the Target spot ($3) and the bunnies might be from Michaels but again, I’ve had them too long to remember.

The mantel photo above looks weird because I used the panorama function on my phone and it didn’t do the best job. I believe the tin cups are from the Target spot, the brown bunnies I’ve had for awhile, the gray bunnies are from Walmart, and the carrots are new from Hobby Lobby. The actual spacing between the grey and brown bunnies is wider than shown in the photo due to the strange perspective of the panorama.

The white planter is from Savers and the carrots are from the Target spot and were $3.

Birthday Weekend

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Friday night we were invited to watch the Blackhawks game at a friends business that has a huge projector. Pizza was ordered and much fun was had. I was surprised with a birthday cake too!

Even though my friend who had purchased it thought the frosting was too hard and didn’t taste good, I enjoyed it. Buttercream tends to be more firm than the whipped cream on the other cake they had purchased for another person who also has a birthday coming up. Joe and I were the only ones to eat my cake because I think my friend’s complaints turned everyone off to mine. I took it home so more cake for me I guess.

After the game was over and a people left, we ended up exploring the rest of the building and trying out some massage chairs. Our friend set mine to the vigorous setting which was more painful than relaxing so I didn’t enjoy it.

The highlight of the evening, at least for me, was discovering their game room which included a ping pong table. A woman, who I met that evening, and I played quite a few games whilst everyone else rotated through playing pool, Mrs Pacman, and the electronic drum machine. We didn’t end up getting home until after 2 am and I didn’t get to sleep until nearly 4 am.

Needless to say, our Saturday consisted of nothing more than sleeping in, watching tv, and eating. I wanted to check out the Laser Gaga show at Triton college but developed quite the headache mid afternoon and opted to skip it. I hate how that always seems to happen after a late night of socializing. I only had one alcoholic drink at the beginning of the evening so I doubt that was the cause. My jaw hurt the next day too, probably from all the laughing.

Sunday was my birthday. Before my shower I opened my presents from Joe – some chocolate candy, lip balm, a pair of Bluetooth headphones, and a flameless candle lantern with magnetic scenes you can switch out based on the seasons.

We went to an early matinee of Jumanji – Welcome to the Jungle, which we both enjoyed. Afterwards we did a little shopping and I found a cute pair of polar bear slippers for only $3.88 and a welcome mat for only $1.99, both at Sears. We had lunch at Red Robin followed by me getting a new pair of gloves from Kohls (only $18.45 after 50% discount and $5 birthday coupon). We also went to Party City but their Valentine decor was weak. I picked up a free scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream from Baskin Robbins and we stopped at Dollar Tree where I found some cute Valentine and St. Patrick’s Day decor. I also grabbed some storage bins because they had new ones in a deep purple which is my favorite color.

Monday I headed to Savers where I found a purple sweater, a plate/bowl for Wookie, a cute planter I plan to use for fake flowers, and a sunflower plate. My total was under $7 for everything which is why I love that place. Unlike the guy who was whining to his girlfriend saying he can’t stand the place. It does get crowded on Mondays since everything is 50% off, but it’s not unbearable.

I stopped at Five Below to look at potential birthday gifts for my brothers but left empty-handed and then at TJ Maxx to look around. I really wanted to find some “winter” decor but all they had was Christmas clearance. I did get a new sponge holder for the sink, though.

My last stop was Chick-fil-A for free lunch since they put a treat in my app (not birthday related). I have grown to love their grilled nuggets with their special sauce. They really are good, but pricey ($4+ for an 8 piece).

Ferrets & barkTHINS

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Saturday we went to the “Greatest Ferret Show On Earth” to visit our friends who were showing their ferret. It was $7 per person to get in and there wasn’t too much to look at but we spent three hours there socializing with our friends so it was definitely worth it. I was surprised they didn’t have it listed as an event on Facebook, though. A missed opportunity to bring in a bigger crowd.

Prior to the show we stopped at Abby’s Breakfast & Lunch as we tend to do every October. I got my favorite – Hawaiian eggs benedict. They were delicious, as always! Right outside the restaurant there was a barkTHINS booth set up as part of the Scarecrow Festival and they were giving out free bags of chocolate. We ended up with two new flavors to try – pumpkin seed and blueberry. Both are good but I prefer the former.

On the way home we stopped at Just Kabobs to pick up lunch and bring it home. I am just amazed at how inexpensive and delicious their food is. There was enough to cover lunch and dinner and it was only $15 total.

Sunday we were back in St. Charles for the scarecrow fest. After checking out the scarecrows we contemplated getting more barkTHINS but decided against it since they seemed to be running low. I love dark chocolate, especially when it’s free, but I didn’t want to be greedy.

Once we got home we played with Wookie and then much to her dismay groomed her and gave her a bath. She smells really good now, but I had to brush her again this morning because she already had developed mats! Ugh, if I was rich I’d just pay someone to groom her twice a month but it would be $120 so no thank you. I have a feeling my Christmas wishlist is going to be all dog related grooming items this year. I want to get a table with a grooming arm and possibly a muzzle since she gets really bitey when you brush her legs. Guess where most of the mats develop? Yup!