Tonight is the first night in weeks it’s cool enough outside to turn off the air and open the windows, and I plan on taking this opportunity to get into bed early so I can read my book to the sound of the crickets chirping.
Category: Life
Joey’s Birthday
We had such a busy evening after work yesterday. I didn’t even have time to read any blogs! It was Joe’s birthday, so I had to run to the store during my lunch to get a card and a gift because I’m a bad wife and never know what to get him which is partially his fault for not being materialistic enough. I had ordered him a White Sox World Series baseball card set on Saturday and it was delivered on Wednesday. I was impressed; UPS seems to be on fire lately!
I didn’t want that to be his only gift, so I looked around Walmart for something cute and found a 500 piece Star Wars puzzle. I would have preferred 1000 pieces, but it’s double-sided which is cool, and should provide more of a challenge.
While I was at the hell hole known as Walmart, I picked up some chew sticks for Peanut. You should have seen her last night trying to drag this huge piece of wood into her den. I also got a box of dice (or is it die?) since we never seem to have enough when we’re playing board games.
After work I rushed home to beat Joe so I could wrap his gifts. I made him open them before we went to dinner at his favorite place, Red Lobster. He got his usual: shrimp pasta. I got a trio platter with scampi, popcorn and coconut shrimp. We also had shrimp cocktail for an appetizer. They have the best cocktail sauce! It’s very tangy!
After dinner we came home and cleaned since my parents wanted to visit today. I hate cleaning but love how nice the place looks after the fact.
I baked strawberry cupcakes while we watched the copy of Old School we just bought. I love that movie so much! It seems more funny every time I watch it. When I went to frost the cupcakes, I couldn’t use the buttercream frosting we had bought because it was already open and someone had stuck their finger in it. Gross!!! Who would do something like that? I wouldn’t even think to check under the lid since there’s that foil seal. But it was broken and some frosting was missing. Luckily we had some vanilla frosting we had bought for the girl’s upcoming birthday so we used that instead.
I fed Peanut, hopped on the computer for five minutes to do a few quick things, then headed upstairs with the birthday boy. This weekend is looking to be much cooler temperature-wise than we’ve had in awhile. We don’t have any set plans other than seeing Will Ferrell’s new movie. Should be fun!
IHOP & Monster House
Friday I took a half day off work so we could take the kids to the movies. Working 7-11 is awesome; I wish my regular work day was only four hours! We had lunch at IHOP first, although we all ordered breakfast. On recommendation from a friend, I got the chocolate chip pancakes. I didn’t realize the pancakes themselves are chocolate flavored, but they were good. They are topped with whipped cream and chocolate chips too. I ordered extra whipped cream too because you can never have too much!
After lunkfast (hehe, better than brunch, dontcha think?) we saw Monster House. The girl drove us absolutely nuts because the entire movie she was clearing her throat. It’s some new thing she does which started ever since they moved to a new town, so I think it’s stress related. We usually just ignore it because asking her to stop has no effect. I hoped that once she got interested in the movie she would stop, because sometimes that happens, but we weren’t that lucky. She literally cleared her throat every 10 seconds for the entire hour and a half. I couldn’t wait to get home so she’d go to her room and I could get some peace and quiet. I know it’s not intentional but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.
The movie was great, though. One of the best I’ve seen in awhile. The animation is really cool and I was transfixed by the realistic looking shots and movement of the characters in the film. It was interesting how much the characters resembled the real life actors. I loved that Kevin James had a part too. I highly recommend you see this film whether you’re an adult or a kid.
Festival of food
We contemplated going to the Balloon Festival today like we did last year, but neither of us felt like getting up at the butt-crack of dawn. Besides, it looked to be the same exact balloons as last year and the sky was hazier. So maybe that will be an every few years type of outing.
We ended up at the mall earlier so I could look for some socks. I also got a pair of purple jogging pants and a cute purse.
Later in the day we decided to check out the Taste of Lombard which we’ve never been to before. Other than not finding close parking, we really liked it. The park they use for the festival grounds is huge so everything is spread out really nice. In addition to a ton of food, they have lots of tents to escape the brutal sun, carnival rides and games, live entertainment, and bingo.
The first thing we did was eat. I got a yummy steak taco and Joe got a beer brat. We sat down and listened to the band onstage for awhile before we walked over to the bingo tent. We didn’t win anything, but it was still fun. I always love bingo! After that we walked around a bit to check out the rides, then went back and listened to some more music, including the Lombard Idol, a singing competition. We only caught the beginning which included girls ages 10-12. I felt rather embarrassed for a few of them because they weren’t very good. But I have to hand it to them for getting up there and trying. I was also a bit surprised by one of the under 12 girls who was walking the stage and carrying on like a wannabe Britney Spears. Way too sexual for her age, if you ask me. By that time we had been there for over two hours, so we decided to leave.
For dinner I grilled some burgers, onion rings, and fries. Yes, I used the actual grill. They came out delicious too.
We’re not planning on trying to find somewhere to watch fireworks tonight. I do like fireworks, don’t get me wrong, I just hate the whole process of having arrive early to get a good spot and then waiting around forever til they actually start. I think we’ll just wait til our town has their summerfest; we can catch two fireworks shows from our driveway. Yes, we really are that lazy!
Hope you had a fun 4th of July!
Slip ‘N Bleed
After work we went to Petsmart to look at the kitties up for adoption. It’s now a tradition to torture ourselves like this. There were two grey kitties with a black one in a cage together and they were all adorable. Only four months old too. Way too cute, we had to move on.
I ended up getting a potty and litter for Peanut. The girl who helped us buy her had said not to bother but I’ve read elsewhere that it’s not too difficult to train hamsters to use a potty so we’ll see how that goes. It would make cleaning her cage much easier. We also got a cheap pet playpen for her so she can run around outside the cage without running off and hiding. She’s playing games with me tonight, hiding out in her bedroom, so I haven’t been able to put her in the playpen just yet.
After Petsmart earlier we went to Target and got a Frappachino from the Starbucks inside. I was craving one after the conversation we had at work because my boss buys Starbucks EVERY morning. I teased her about the fortune she is spending. I can barely bring myself to “splurge” on a 99¢ fruit and yogurt parfait from McDonald’s every other Friday morning. I’m frugal, there’s no doubt.
Anyway, the Frappachino gave me a stomachache so we cut our shopping short which means we didn’t get everything on the list. We did buy a Slip ‘N Slide* for the kids, however. I realize it says for ages 5-12 but I’m probably going to be trying that baby out anyway. I often feel like I’m 12 so that counts, right? My grandparents had one when I was a kid but it was all yellow and it didn’t have that bumper on the end. Oh no, you just slid right off it and crashed headfirst into the garage. I shit you not. Between crashing and sliding over rocks, I was so bruised after using it. Kids are so coddled these days. Now the damn thing is cushioned and everything. When I was a kid (do I sound old here or what?), we played with lawn darts, and those tips were made of sharp metal. They wouldn’t dare sell them like that now.
Anyway, we got home and Joe had it in his head he wanted chicken patties so he got so upset when he realized we were all out. I ended up making homemade mac and beef using Ragu cheese, pasta, and ground beef. Add a little seasoning salt and it’s better than Kraft. My friend called while we were eating to let me know she wouldn’t be meeting us at the local festival as originally planned. I wanted to go there around 9 or so to get some night shots of the rides and play bingo but our laziness won out and we didn’t end up going. If we could just park nearby and walk I think I might have gone anyway, but I wasn’t too keen on having to park in their designated lots (i.e local high schools) and waiting for a shuttle bus to take us to the fairgrounds. So I did some laundry instead.
That’s typical for us, though. We don’t usually go out on Friday nights for some reason. I guess it’s nice to just kick back after a long week of work and sit around knowing we don’t have to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Although we won’t be staying up too late – tomorrow we’re going to Indiana Beach. The weather forecast is 80 and sunny. Best tacos in Indiana, here we come!
* Also known as the Slip ‘N Bleed from the Anus according to Dane Cook