Category: Friends

Weekend Roundup

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Friday (3/24) evening we decided to check out the fish fry at the local golf club and invited a friend to join us. I am not a big fan of fish so I ordered the manicotti for $9.99 and was able to access the same salad bar that came with the fish fry. The food itself was just ok. There’s no full-time bar/restaurant in the place so that might have been why it wasn’t better. They only serve food there during Lent. In any case it was still nice to do something different and catch up with our friend.

Saturday (3/25) morning we went to Schaumburg so I could check out this store called At Home. It used to be called Garden Ridge but apparently they changed them all to At Home so it’s the same everywhere. There was one in Arizona that we browsed when we were there which I liked. We purchased two different sized coffee table trays (a small one for $8 and a larger one for $10) since I wasn’t sure which size would work best on the coffee table.

We also checked out Home Goods and The Container Store for a ceramic crock I could keep the remotes in. I had seen a nice setup in an organization video on YouTube and wanted to do that on our coffee table too. We didn’t have much luck, although we did get some travel containers at The Container Store so we don’t have to spend extra money buying travel-sized saline and contact lens solution anymore.

I felt a little guilty leaving Wookie home alone so soon after her surgery but to be honest she won’t calm down and nap when we’re home so it was actually better for her that we left the house. She’s really good about just napping whenever she’s alone.

Since it was a rainy day I spent the entire afternoon reading books I had borrowed from the library that morning.

Sunday (3/26) we didn’t get out of bed until 9 or something which is crazy for us. We did some shopping at Walmart and then I started a batch of stuffed pepper soup in the crockpot before we went back out to Pet Supplies Plus to get Wookie a different food. It seems all the puppy food has chicken in it, however, so I’m not sure how much switching her food is going to help but we got a bag of Wellness puppy food for small breeds which was on sale for $10 for a 4 lb bag.

After stopping at the grocery store we spent the rest of the day watching tv and then watched Sing in the evening. It was an ok movie; nothing too spectacular.

This morning after cleaning I went to Savers to browse. I found a bunch of sweaters and pajama pants to try on but wouldn’t you know it, none of them were all that flattering. I did buy a game called Last Word for only $2 though.

I decided to stop at Target and found a ceramic crock for $3. It had a little handle which I just removed since it was a goldish color I didn’t care for. Here’s how organized the coffee table now looks:

I’m thinking about buying some contact paper to put inside the tray since the finish scratches easily but for now I just used the non-slip stuff I use for inside drawers and other containers. It’s not as pretty but it’s functional at least. Honestly, I wish they had nicer color trays but the only options were black, white, or teal so we went with black. A deep purple would have been cool. Oh, and that’s the smaller tray. I think it works better to leave more space for books and magazines on the table.

Whirlwind Weekend

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Friday (3/3) was my follow-up visit with my doctor. I brought along some previous test results I found stored on my computer and he decided to prescribe a low dose of Lyrica to help with what he suspects may be Fibromyalgia. I’m nervous about taking a new medicine but I’ll give it a try if I’ll feel less achy all the time.

After the doctor I stopped at Target for a couple of items and noticed they do have a few cheap dog toys so I got Wookie a pink rubber bone and another rope since she loves playing tug of war so much.

Saturday (3/4) we were up early to swing by our old physician’s office to get our medical records and then to my friend’s house for a morning puppy play date. Her older dog just passed away two weeks ago which is sad. Wookie was more relaxed on this visit than before although she still won’t play with the other dog, Teddy. She also vomited in the car when we were only about five minutes away and vomited again when we were about five minutes from home. She’s fine on short car rides but apparently 40+ minutes is too much for her stomach. I guess we can try not feeding her beforehand, although in this case it would have seemed cruel since she hadn’t eaten since the night before.

We stopped at home so Wookie could pee (she holds it the entire time we’re out, even though we brought her pee pad and also visited my friend’s backyard) and were planning to take her with us to Petco to buy a dog tag. Since we had a few other stops, and she was exhausted from her adventure, we decided to leave her home instead so she could rest.

We stopped at McDonald’s for lunch since the app had a deal where you buy anything and get a free medium item from their McCafe menu, so we both tried the chocolate Shamrock shakes. I liked it, but plan to get a regular all-mint one before they stop making them.

That evening I traumatized Wookie putting a different collar with the new tag on and she decided she didn’t like me for few a hours. She actually went into her crate in the living room and just glared at me. She also kept chewing the tag and has already scratched the part with her name and my phone number. She then got it stuck between her teeth so we took everything off and plan to get a collar where you can have the info stitched directly into it instead. Plus she will be microchipped soon.

Sunday (3/5) afternoon we met up with my brothers and Brother B’s girlfriend, R, at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville to see John Wick Chapter 2. My brother had a Groupon so we only had to pay for our food. I got the $5 sangria special which wasn’t bad (I don’t normally like wine) and Joe got the mushroom burger. Every theater has a theme and ours was Egyptian which was interesting. I was teasing my brother that had we seen the earlier showing we would have been in the ocean one which looked really cool (from the outside at least). Despite our reservations we had a very nice time. On the way there we were kinda dreading it because we can be a little weird if we feel like we’re being ripped off and based on the menu and prices that’s kind of what it felt like beforehand. However, we tried to reframe the experience in our minds – going out to lunch and seeing a movie, at the same time no less, with family. My only complaint – the chairs are so thick that sitting normally my feet couldn’t touch the floor so I had to recline to be comfortable. It was definitely an experience, though, and I wouldn’t mind going back there again. Also, even though I wasn’t thrilled about seeing the movie because I didn’t care much for the first one, it was really good.

After the movie everyone came back to our place for dinner (tacos) and to see Wookie. She was growling at Brother J which is crazy since she’s met him before and liked him! I think her socializing is paying off because after getting over her initial attitude she was running around the living room in the middle of everyone instead of hanging off to the side scared. By the end of the evening she was actually playing with R and jumping on her arm with her toys. I think overall she prefers females to males.

This afternoon I met up with my friend at Steak and Shake for lunch and then she came back to the house to see Wookie. She’s been here once before but it was months ago so I guess Wookie didn’t remember her. She was growling and barking up a storm, even after we brought her into the living room with us. She stopped after a few minutes and by the end of the hour was playing and licking my friend’s fingers. She’s so funny how she can go from being so angry to friendly.

Rogue One

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This past week was pretty stressful. On Joe’s first day of work he had to fly to Denver for training so I was on my own with Wookie until Thursday evening. Running home during my lunch break sucks! Even though only 20 minutes of the hour are used for driving, the remaining 40 minutes flies by taking care of Wookie and I barely get time to scarf down my own food. Ugh! I guess it could be worse – at least it’s only three days a week.

Thursday when I got home from work I was super pissed off to find our garbage can lying on the ground AGAIN. I swear the garbage men hate us because ours is the only one on the block on it’s side half the time. It was already cracked and duct taped and now there’s a huge hole in it. I had to call to request a new can.

Friday morning after baking a batch of sugar cookies (I love those Betty Crocker pouches) and starting some chili in the crockpot, I headed to Target to look for some stocking stuffers for Joe. I couldn’t believe how busy it was at 10 am; people were pissing me off leaving their carts in the middle of the aisles so I got what I needed and got the heck out of there.

I had lunch plans with a friend at the mall food court. Last time we met up I had a Great Steak because they are so good but this time I decided to try teriyaki chicken from the Japanese stand in the food court. Other than the long wait for the food, it was ok even though the fried rice was rather oily. The mall was pretty busy – there were a bunch of kids singing Christmas songs for guests and once they were done they descended upon the food court so we left since we couldn’t hold a conversation over the noise anyway. We decided to stop by Bath & Body Works; their $12.50 lotions happened to be on sale for $3.50 so I got Vanilla Bean Noel since I love that scent in the soap and body wash versions. I thought it would be perfect to apply after using the body wash.

We headed back to my place so my friend could meet Wookie. She’s funny – whenever she meets someone new she is very timid until she determines the person isn’t a threat. So in other words she was very sweet until my friend had been there for an hour and then she started getting rambunctious. She hung out with us in the living room while we chatted and eventually ended up falling asleep on the floor. It was so cute, and unexpected, since she never falls asleep when Joe and I let her run around.

After my friend left I made corn bread to go along with the chili. Joe was working from home in the rat room so once he wrapped up we had a very nice dinner together. I also applied the new lotion and promptly realized I hated it. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t smell quite right.

Saturday morning we stopped at Walmart to return some fleece lined leggings I had purchased a few weeks ago. I was really excited when I got them because they were only $9 for two holiday-themed pair but they didn’t fit. We also brought all our change along to cash in for a gift card but it turns out the Coinstar in Walmart doesn’t give out Amazon gift card codes and we don’t like getting cash because Coinstar takes a 5% cut.

There’s a Bath & Body Works a few stores down from the Walmart so I ran in there quickly and swapped the yucky Vanilla Bean Noel lotion for a different scent. I was going to get Twisted Peppermint since I like the soap but that lotion smelled weird too. I think for the most part their lotions suck. Luckily I was able to find one I like that I’ve actually used before – Sea Island Cotton.

Then we headed to Jewel to use their Coinstar and ended up with $196.76 in Amazon credit. We’ll see how long that lasts. We’ve been ordering off Amazon like crazy lately!

coinstar

From there we headed to the library where Joe donated blood, then to Culvers to get gift cards for the kids, Aldis to grab groceries, and Lou Malnati’s for a gift card for the year. I love that for $100 they give you a free $25 gift certificate since that pays for an entire large deep dish pizza. We stopped at home for lunch (I made chicken salad) and to feed Wookie before heading back out to get gas for my car and to buy gift cards for the kids at Half Price Books.

Saturday evening we had planned to go out looking at Christmas lights but neither of us felt like it so we watched Sausage Party instead. The movie was ok, but like everyone else who had already seen it told me, the ending was just weird.

Sunday we were up fairly early so we could see the 9:10 am showing of Rouge One. It was a good movie overall, although I enjoyed The Force Awakens more. The thing I didn’t like the most will be below at the end so I don’t spoil the film for anyone who hasn’t see it yet.

After the movie we browsed Payless Shoes but didn’t see anything we liked. Then we had lunch at Red Robin. They currently have a buy one get one 50% off deal and I had a gift card. Their burgers never disappoint and they seem even tastier when they’re free! Our waitress was wearing a Darth Vader Christmas sweater and I mentioned to her I saw the same ones at Target the other day. She wanted to know if we had seen the latest movie and whether it was any good since she hasn’t had a chance yet and was looking forward to it.

On the way out we stopped in Kohl’s so I could look for a sweater but I didn’t end up liking any. I did spot my favorite bras on sale (buy one get one 50% off), so I got two. I wasn’t entirely thrilled that even with the 15% off coupon I found on the Retail Me Not app my total was $53, and the cashier must have felt the same because she gave me some scratch off promotion that reveals an additional percentage discount. I scratched off 15% and she had me try again because she wanted me to get a bigger discount, but that too was 15% off, but hey, that brought the total down to $44. $22 per bra isn’t bad when they are the comfiest bras I’ve ever worn (Warner’s Women’s Cloud 9 Wire-Free Contour Bra)!

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Weekend Recap

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Friday we had our friends over for dinner. I made baked cream cheese spaghetti (accompanied by salad and garlic bread) and brownies for dessert. We didn’t get to play any games even though they were over from 6 pm until 12:30 am. We hadn’t seen them since July so we had a lot to catch up on. They are watching the rats while we’re out of town later this month so we went over the daily routine and gave them keys to the house. I love that we have someone we can trust to not only take care of the boys but also keep an eye on our place. Joe and I are both paranoid over all the things that can go wrong when we’re not home so it gives us peace of mind.

Saturday we slept in and didn’t do much whereas yesterday we headed to the park to shoot some hoops which was a lot of fun, and then walked around a bit. I swear I walked past one of my old friends from college but when I texted our mutual friend she said it wasn’t possible since she lives in California. Her parents live in the same town as the park, though, so I think she’s here visiting. I debated whether to say hi but decided against it since she didn’t seem too interested in the idea of getting together when I proposed it years ago. Ah well, I guess I’ll never know if that really was her unless our mutual friend asks her, but I really think it was.

Today was Milo’s follow up vet visit. His abscess filled up a little again so they had to drain it and he is on more medication for a week so there goes another $110. I also made the appointment to have Gizmo euthanized on Friday. I really hate doing it, but the fact is his mass is growing bigger every day and I don’t want our friends dealing with him declining while we’re several states away. The vet told us two weeks ago he only had a few weeks to a month left so I’ve postponed it as long as I can without risking him suffering or dying without me there. It sucks, though.

On a more positive note, after the vet we visited the arboretum to take in what’s left of the fall colors. I don’t know if it’s just this area or what, but it’s like the leaves change colors and almost immediately fall off the trees so it’s difficult to catch them when they look their prettiest.

Trees

I did get some nice shots, however, and the weather was gorgeous. We stopped at Noodles & Company for lunch which we haven’t done in forever. We had a BOGO coupon plus a gift card we had purchased last December so it didn’t cost anything out of pocket. I didn’t finish my noodles either so now I have lunch for work tomorrow.

I listened to a live stream of The Cure in Germany while editing my photos this afternoon which was very relaxing. I wish every day could be like this (minus the vet visit).

Today was probably the last day of warm weather and on top of that it starts getting dark before 5 pm now. If we had the means to live somewhere out west from November through March of every year I would jump at the opportunity.

Party Weekend

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Ugh, I feel hungover today. It’s mostly lack of sleep related and not alcohol induced since I didn’t really drink much last night at my friend’s annual party. But I’ll get to that in a bit.

Early Saturday morning (around 1 am) I woke up with the worst panic attack ever. It doesn’t matter how many times they happen, I’m always certain I’m going to die. It’s so damn scary! I immediately took a Xanax, stripped off most of my clothing, and ran a rag under the water and put it on the back of my neck since I was overheated. Then I turned on Netflix as a distraction to wait for the medication to kick in. Joe was sleeping during all this, but I woke him up when I started shaking uncontrollably. That was a new thing that hasn’t happened before, but apparently is common during panic attacks. At some point I passed out because Joe said at 3 am he woke up and had to turn off the TV and remove my glasses.

Needless to say, Saturday morning I was feeling crappy even though I slept in. We had plans to visit my second cousin for a pool/game day around 3 pm. I started baking brownies (two batches – one for my cousin and one for the party we were attending on Sunday) when suddenly the power went out. There weren’t any storms or anything, but everyone on the block lost power. I immediately reported it to ComEd and gave my cousin a head’s up since I hadn’t even showered yet! That threw a kink in everything so we decided to postpone for another day. I felt simultaneously relieved and bummed because it would be nice to get to know her better (we recently connected on Facebook after seeing her at a funeral, the only place it ever seems like the majority of our family sees one another) but I was feeling really out of it thanks to the panic attack so it was for the best.

Once the power came back on I just finished baking the brownies. That evening Joe ordered pizza and we watched Wild Card which is the worst Jason Statham movie we’ve ever seen. What a total crapfast! I rated it half a star on Flixster because it’s pure garbage. In contrast, we watched Pixels on Friday night which was actually better than I was expecting. I gave it 3 stars out of 5 because it wasn’t anything spectacular but at least it held my interest and I liked the CGI video game characters.

Sunday we met up with our friends at Bulldog Ale House at 3 pm for lunch before the party. I was planning on ordering tator tots with my boneless wings since every year I drool over my friend’s tots, but they no longer offer them. WTF? How hard is it to have tator tots on the menu? Joe and I shared an order of waffle fries but they weren’t worth the $4 we were charged. They also started charging for dipping sauce for the wings. I’m pretty sure that’s a new thing too. Overall I was a little irked but it was still fun catching up with our friends who we hadn’t seen in awhile.

We arrived at the party sometime after 4 pm and it was hot, humid, and sunny. Some clouds rolled in shortly after, however, which made things much more comfortable. As I vowed last year, we brought chips. Three bags, in fact, in addition to the two batches of brownies I brought (which received more than a few glowing reviews) and the vodka infused cherries Joe made. We brought our bathing suits fulling intending to jump in the pool or hot tub but never got around to it. The pool was occupied by kids splashing around most of the time and it was too humid to make going into the hot tub any fun. That’s ok, though. We walked down a few blocks to the fest to watch the fireworks and due to the wind got pelted with debris from them which was rather annoying. Afterwards we hung out for a little while before taking off when it started to rain. My friend had to be up early for work anyway since unlike previous years she couldn’t take the day off as she had just gone back to work after being out for three months for medical reasons.

I was rather awake when we got home so I put Netflix on for awhile. Joe fell asleep and I was surfing on my phone when I realized The Cure was playing a show in Hawaii which is five hours behind us. I hadn’t planned on watching it, but since I was up I figured what the hell. Someone was Periscoping the whole thing and it sounded so good! They played a great set, including a Seventeen Seconds encore (At Night, M, Play for Today, and A Forest) which was awesome. By the time that was over it was 4 am!

I managed to drag my butt out of bed around 11 am because the landscapers were making a racket outside. Even though I only had 3 vodka cherries and a little bit of an amaretto sour, I feel hungover. I’m eating pizza and potato chips as I write this. I’m going to be so screwed up trying to get to bed at a decent hour tonight for work tomorrow! My boss is on vacation all this week so it should be pretty quiet at least. As if that even matters – my boss never micromanages me so it’s not going to be much different than any other week.