Category: Movies

April 2026 Recap

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04/02 (Thu)
Took the coins we’ve been collecting for years to US Bank to be deposited into our account. I swear their counting machine is programmed to rip people off because I meticulously counted everything multiple times and came to a total of $163.04 but they claimed I gave them $162.55, thus stealing $.49. It didn’t help that when I handed over the coins, which I had placed into baggies which were inside a plastic container, the doofus lifted the baggie and proceeded to dump coins all over the floor. I wish they weren’t the only place to cash in coins without paying a fee. I will need to make a point of bringing them in more often so I can ensure they aren’t ripping us off.

04/05 (Sun) – Easter

04/09 (Thu)
At the marsh I was putting an old pair of binoculars that used to belong to my late uncle around my neck when I remarked to Joe “I really need to get a more comfortable strap for these already”. Mere seconds later the universe said “I hear you”, the strap broke, and they tumbled to the ground! Luckily they didn’t break and only got a little scuffed up. I knew I had to order a strap ASAP.

Update: I didn’t like anything for sale because most of them are “quick release” and I worry the plastic will break and they’ll get damaged. Then I remembered I had an older Canon Digital SLR camera in storage, so I removed the strap and Joe put it on the binoculars.

Problem solved at zero cost.

04/11-04/12 – Weekend Recap

04/15 (Wed)
Picked up my new glasses from LensCrafters. I opted to have new lenses put into my existing frames with them because they ordered the lenses and then cut them right there when they came in, so I was only without my frames for an hour.

04/17-04/19 – Extended Weekend Recap

04/21 (Tue)
There’s a football some kids were playing with a month or so ago that they left outside. With the high winds it got blown over to our side of the shared courtyard and has sat there ever since. I got sick of looking at it so I moved it to the side of the courtyard where all the kids live since I’m not sure who owns it. I put it in spot where a tree would obscure my sight, or so I thought. I miscalculated the angle so unfortunately I can still see it. (As of May 6th it’s still there).

04/22 (Wed)
Installed I-PASS stickers, which I ordered online and came in the mail, on both our cars. My responder was never mounted to the windshield and after last month’s incident, I was tired of dealing with it. With the stickers we will never have to worry about a missed toll again.

04/23 (Thu)
Tried recycling our dead batteries at Home Depot but they wouldn’t accept them, so we took them to Lowe’s. They wouldn’t take them either! This is despite a website that claimed both would. Very annoying! But we were rewarded for our effort by discovering a Salvadorian food truck in the parking lot of Lowe’s. Their food became our delicious dinner.

04/24 (Fri)
Went to Armstrong Park for the first time this year. Was surprised to see the area across from Klein Creek was completely dry. After all the rain we’ve had not only did I expect to see water there, but it should have been very high. We walked over to Balog Island to see the returning Purple Martins, although I only saw two.

Maybe they were the early arrivals. We saw a few sandpipers by Lake George as well.

We also went across the creek by the library to explore the wooded area since there’s a little through the trees but no birds were seen there at all.

I hate what they did to that park when they removed all the trees along the creek. We used to see much more wildlife over there.

04/25 (Sat)
We picked up our microwave from the repair shop (I’ll need to construct an entry about that whenever the saga ends since it wasn’t fixed even though they had it a month) and stopped at Muirhead Springs on the way home. We saw two sparrows that only grace us with their presence for a limited time every year.

This one is a Savannah Sparrow. I’ve only seen one once before and it was at the same place!

Afterwards we visited Fermilab but despite everyone else seeing cool birds we never do. It’s very frustrating and I low-key hate that place now.

We decided to get some pizza for lunch but decided to stop at Brown’s Chicken first to pickup some breaded mushrooms after reading on Reddit earlier the week how good they are. They did not disappoint! And this is coming from someone who doesn’t love mushrooms, although lately they’ve been growing on me… you could say like a fungus. ;)

04/26 (Sun)
Joe installed two shelves in the office so we can create a little memorial for Wookie on one and place some pop culture stuff on the other.

Notable media this month:

Dexter: Resurrection – We’re behind in watching this continuation of Dexter: New Blood; I snagged the DVD from the library and we blew through the entire season quickly. I really enjoyed it compared to New Blood because Harrison wasn’t nearly as annoying, plus Peter Dinklage’s character was perfection. There were quite a few celebrities in the cast too. I cannot wait until season two, even though I’m disappointed that they chose to end Original Sin in favor of this. That too was so good! If I had to rank all iterations of Dexter in order of best to worst, it would look like this:
Dexter
Dexter: Resurrection
Dexter: Original Sin
Dexter: New Blood

Anaconda – Jack Black and Paul Rudd together in a movie? Yes please! Was it the best comedy I’ve seen? No. Was it better than most? Yes! There was one scene in particular closer to the end that had us rolling.

Senseless – Nothing compares to a 90s comedy in my eyes. Even when they aren’t that good, they’re still interesting and funny in parts. This stars Marlon Wayons and David Spade. I don’t remember hearing anything about it back then but we were browsing Roku live channels and this came on. That’s one thing you can’t get with streaming – you never stumble upon something, but have to be intentional with what you watch.

Eternity – When I read the premise of this movie I thought it was interesting:

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

I wish they had explored the whole reason behind why souls had to pick a very specific eternity without the option to change their mind but overall it was very good, even more so than I was expecting. While they inexplicitly put her far down on the cast list despite being a major character, Da’Vine Joy Randolph was fantastic and so funny. I hope to see her in more films.

Send Help – You’ve never seen Rachel McAdams in a role like this and I was all for it! This was quite entertaining and kept changing direction just when you thought you knew what was going to happen. I made the mistake of reading user reviews on IMDb and woo boy, people really can’t just say “hey, this wasn’t for me”. Oh no, it’s like “this is dumb because they did this or that for mere shock value”. Personally, I think it was a unique thriller and I enjoyed it.

February 2026 Recap

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02/01 (Sun)
Learned The Cure finally won not one, but two, Grammys. It’s about time!

02/03 (Tue)
Noticed the display on the microwave we purchased in September has stuck pixels or whatever you call them on it now. Seriously?!

Found out later in the month that we will need to bring it to an authorized Panasonic repair service to be fixed under warranty. Guess how many we have to choose from? Two! They are each an hour drive away and only one of them has weekend hours. They don’t carry most parts in stock, so we have to leave the microwave to be evaluated, they’ll order the parts to fix it, thus requiring we come back 1-3 weeks later to pick it up. Does Panasonic care about how inconvenient this is? Nope. Won’t be buying another Panasonic appliance again.

02/04 (Wed)
Replaced one of the surge protector power strips in the living room after learning that they need to be replaced every five years because the ability to protect electronics from surges wanes over time. The plan to is to replace all of them. This also spurred a new project – going through all the electronics and cords in the house and starting a box to recycle what is no longer needed.

02/07 (Sat)
We bought soda for the first time in ages. Joe wanted to get pizza for the weekend, so I figured lets get some Pepsi. Even on sale it’s rather ridiculous, especially since we had to buy three 12-packs, but at least Target allowed you to mix and match, so we got two packs of Pepsi Real Sugar and one Dr. Pepper so I can make a dirty Dr. Pepper at home (it’s where you add cream, coconut syrup, and lime).

We attended Ice-A-Palooza in Wheaton.

I saw a sign for it at a park where I assumed it would be held (and the address for the event was on the same street), but we learned it wasn’t actually held there when we arrived to nothing happening. Luckily we hadn’t traveled too far out of our way.

The event was geared more toward families, so after sharing a french vanilla hot chocolate and taking a selfie with people dressed in a polar bear and penguin costume, we decided to leave.

It was a bit irritating that they weren’t adhering to the posted schedule so we missed the figure skating performances. Also they didn’t clear snow from one of the paths to the event and it was rather deep. I ended up emailing the park district to ask about the schedule and suggest they shovel next time since people with strollers needed to go the un-shoveled way since it had the accessible ramp from the parking lot down to the field. I didn’t even mention in my email that Skates, the Chicago Wolves mascot, was about 45 minutes late. He was supposed to show up at noon according to the posted schedule, but we ran into him in the parking lot around 12:45, only 15 minutes before the event was due to end. We got a selfie with him at least!

We ordered two pizzas (one small Mike’s hot honey thin crust and one large half sausage half cheese deep dish) from Lou Malnati’s and stopped in a store around the corner called the Rustic Fox while we waited for our food to be ready. The store is a collection of craft booths similar to another place we like called The Painted Tree. This store was much more crowded, though. I ended up snagging gifts for my best friend and stepson.

Originally we were going to get the pizza on Sunday, but with the Super Bowl (or Superb Owl, as I like to call it), even ordering it early might be a pain, so we figured we’d enjoy the leftovers instead while watching the game.

02/08 (Sun)
I watched the Puppy Bowl on HBO Max before we watched the Super Bowl via Peacock. Was thrown by the Hellman’s commercial with Andy Samberg playing Neil Diamond.

It looked like Andy but also didn’t look like him. What cinched it was his mannerisms.

02/12 (Thu)
Spent too much at Costco since it had been over a month since our last visit. I’m now going to rate some of the things we got there:

Beef Birria Taco Kit – 8/10 for delicious tacos and rice, but a mediocre consume.

Dessert Bars – 3/10 would not get again because my baking is superior. I had Joe take half of them to work for his employees and I froze most of the remaining for those days we need a sweet treat and nothing else is available.

Beef hot dog from the café – 9/10 still good, and despite my fears, they haven’t changed the bun (yet) even though other people are showing the inferior buns at their stores.

Coke Zero from the café – 5/10 because I still drank it, but it tasted like it was lacking the right amount of syrup. Culver’s is better.

02/14 (Sat)
Decided a visit to IKEA was long overdue. Since when do they open at 10 am? That is so late! We did the grand tour of the store, grabbed the items we went there for (picture ledges), and left. Nothing else really stood out and we were a little taken back by the prices. Was IKEA always so expensive when it came to uncomfortable furniture?

We had intended to cash in a T-Mobile Tuesday deal at Jack In The Box for a free chicken sandwich but the mobile ordering was unavailable. Since that was the only way to get the deal, we ordered Jimmy Johns instead and took it to the arboretum. After we enjoyed our lunch we visited Juniper Junction, their special model train exhibit.

It was cute, but colder inside the building than outside. Even though it was nearly 60 degrees, without the sun the building was not inviting inside (it’s not heated), so after admiring the trains for a bit we got back into the car and drove around, stopping at Turtle Pond as always to do a short hike.

For dinner Joe made the most delicious spicy ala vodka pasta and garlic cheese breadsticks. Then we put the Bob’s Burgers Movie on while we worked on a painting project he got us. I found the process a little frustrating, simply because Joe’s a better artist than I am!

Can you tell which side is his?

* I later learned that Jack in the Box has kept their mobile ordering turned off for both new Illinois locations since they opened here several months ago. People on FB were talking about how terrible their service is and the food being cold even when they aren’t busy. Based on that I doubt they’ll last long in this state.

Needless to say, I’ve added them to our boycott list, along with January’s addition – McDonald’s. I’m fed up with them not taking their own gift card in their app and their stupid app developers’ insulting replies when you complain about it via a review in the app store. Their reply? “We hear you. However, we currently do not have the feature to accept gift cards on the app.” DUH! That is exactly what I said in the review. Seriously, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

02/15 (Sun)
After morning errands we picked up breakfast from Tropical Smoothie Café (another T-Mobile deal). In the afternoon we went to Lincoln Marsh to try and find the owls. It took some time, but Joe spotted one after we heard it vocalizing.

Afterwards we walked around Northside Park. It was pretty muddy at both places; I felt very grateful that my hiking boots no longer irritate my feet like they did just a month ago. Judging by how many people we encountered at both places we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

02/21 (Sat)
We headed to Kohl’s to do two returns. One of them was Amazon because they closed Amazon Fresh earlier this month. I had to return pants to Kohl’s anyway, though, because even though they looked like the same style as the cargo shorts I own, they had a real annoying seam along the back and front (in addition to the regular side seams). I will never find a nice pair of hiking pants, I swear!

On the way out of Kohl’s I spotted this hilarious t-shirt.

I was tempted to buy it, but I’m not that big of a Kohl’s fan.

We stopped at Dollar Tree* and Old Time Pottery. I found two cute garden stakes at DT.

Nothing really stood out to me at OTP. They don’t have all their stuff out yet, though, because I didn’t see any pinwheels. Ours was stolen sometime last year. I was so ill at the time that I have no idea how long it was missing before I noticed. It was in front of our tree out front, deep in the ground, and very sturdy, so I doubt it just blew away. I think either the old neighbors snatched it when moving out, or a kid really liked it and decided to make it their own.

We stopped at Lazarus House in St. Charles to drop off a few donations before making our way back home.

We passed World Market and I wanted to browse even though we rarely buy anything (which is exactly what happened) and noticed a new business two stores down called Ollie’s. They sell overstock at reduced prices. I recognized storage bins I’ve purchased in the past at Menards and books still sporting a Target sticker on them.

Speaking of books, I was amazed by the selection, and there were so many I would have loved as a child. I was really into illustrated dictionaries, encyclopedias, and almanacs, especially if they focused on animals, and there was no shortage of them.

I would have loved this book as a child.

* Since when are there so many different prices at Dollar Tree? They used to have the special section with more expensive items, but now those items are sprinkled throughout the store. Not only that, but it seems like some things are $1.25 but some are $1.50. They really need to change their name.

02/22 (Sun)
It was a more low-key day because my skin sensitivity started giving me issues when we were out on Saturday and I wasn’t in the mood to do much, but we got takeout from Culver’s for lunch because they have the best burgers and fries.

We also continued with the Great Declutter of 2026 with Joe going through a tote of computer equipment, and our box of electronics recycling grew even larger. It feels so good getting rid of things and making space and we’re not done. I’ve been decluttering and organizing for weeks now.

02/26 (Thu)
Tried Dubai chocolate and can say not a fan. Maybe Lindt wasn’t the right brand to try, but I don’t care much for milk chocolate anyway, so unless there’s a dark chocolate version, I would skip it.

02/27 (Fri)
Weather was nice enough that I took an afternoon walk around the neighborhood, and when Joe got home from work we went to Churchill Park.

Other than some red-winged blackbirds, we didn’t see too much, but it was still to get out of the house.

02/28 (Sat)
Went out of our way to a different *Aldi than our local one in search of the elusive asiago cheese version of their bagel seasoning which they had, so I got three.

Then stopped at Trader Joe’s next door to stock up and got these beautiful unicorn baby breath.

For lunch we finally got around to trying a smash burger place that opened up close by a year ago called Fyve Bros.

Gee, wonder who they are competing with? The burgers are almost $10 each (for a double patty), but they are really good. Melt in your mouth, good! So we’re be back. It’s across the street from our favorite Mexican joint so we’ll have to alternate visits.

* I called Aldi corporate earlier in the week to ask about when I should expect my store to carry the asiago cheese bagel seasoning and got into the dumbest conversation.

First off, the woman claimed it was a seasonal, she couldn’t tell me when it would come back in stock, and their website doesn’t show what’s actually in stock at any given store, just what was sold by that store at ONE POINT IN TIME. Say what?

I explained that the item’s availability changes when I pick a different location, suggesting it’s reflecting what’s actually in stock. Despite this, the woman insisted that’s not how it works.

In addition to that, she tried to tell me if I attempted to order something on the site and it wasn’t for the Aldi closest to my home, they wouldn’t allow it. I asked, “even if I chose pickup?” and she said yes. I could understand that if someone chose delivery, but why would Aldi care if someone chose to travel to a distant location if they’re picking up the order? I posed this question to her and she said that’s just how it is.

I asked to speak to someone else but she wouldn’t let me! Clearly she doesn’t know what she’s talking about because we went to our local Aldi the day after I found the asiago seasoning at the other location and they had it in stock at ours. I went home and checked the website and it was now appearing at that location even though for weeks before it wasn’t. Obviously it’s updating according to current inventory. Probably not in real time, but close enough. Ugh! How do some people lack critical thinking skills, and how do those same people end up in customer facing jobs?

Notable media this month:

Task (HBO Max) – In the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia, an FBI agent, played by Mark Ruffalo, heads a task force to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspected family man. The first two episodes were a bit slow but once they found their momentum it was one of those mini-series that made you want to binge watch. It had an Ozark vibe to it, not just because one of the main characters, played by Tom Pelphrey, was in Ozark.

The Life of Chuck – This movie is an example of how good story-telling keeps you immersed even when not a ton of stuff actually happens. We weren’t exactly sure where the story was going but it had a satisfying ending.

Roofman – This film is based on a true story about a career criminal who lived in a Toys R Us for six months while hiding from the police after breaking out of jail. Very entertaining.

HouseSitter – They don’t make comedies like this anymore. No big set, no huge complicated plot, just good acting. I think we’re going to look into watching more movies from the nineties.

We were focused on a Scrubs re-watch in preparation for the new season on Hulu which we haven’t tuned into yet since we have two more seasons to go.

December Recap

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We both got our passports in December, although mine came over a week after Joe’s even though my application was submitted prior to his.

We also had to pay a $35 speeding ticket that was issued for the day we went to Lincoln Park Zoo in October. Apparently there are speed cameras all along Irving Park Rd. Now, Joe was in fact speeding, so I’m not angry about that. What I am angry about is they sent a warning a few days before sending a ticket for the same day. How is it a warning exactly if you’re still going to issue a ticket? Yes, they were for different locations, but all part of Irving Park Rd. If you’re trying to warn people about the strict speed limit on a particular road, shouldn’t they get a free pass for that entire day, thus getting enough time to actually receive said warning? Seems logical to me, but not to the city of Chicago, thus rendering the “warning” useless. I saw on Reddit where people were saying the whole speed trap near parks is a bunch of bullshit anyway because the city is loose on the definition of a park; it includes an empty lot that happens to have grass on it. In any case, we won’t be taking the “scenic” route home again. It not only takes longer with all the lights, but the traffic is pretty heavy, which makes being able to “speed” pretty hard to begin with (he was 6 mph over, which is the bare minimum for a ticket).

12/02 (Mon) – Put out the new Christmas welcome mat we snagged at Lowes in November.

12/04 (Wed) – Watched my Spotify Wrapped and wasn’t the least bit surprised that my top two artists – The Cure and Sofi Tukker – haven’t changed.

12/05 (Thu) – Put up the Christmas tree, and I mean that loosely because the lights and ornaments didn’t make it on the tree until 12/14.

12/07 (Sat) – My bestie’s birthday party. Always a fun time because her friends are fun to talk to, as is her brother, well usually. But for some reason he felt the need to go on what felt like a ten minute lecture about why he doesn’t like The Cure, because of Robert Smith’s voice in particular, after I mentioned they were my favorite band. It was rather uncomfortable, but K and I had a good laugh about it later because he truly didn’t mean to be offensive.

We had Shake Shack for lunch earlier in the day. It was our first visit to the relatively new location in our neighborhood, thanks to a “deal” through T-Mobile Tuesday, if you can call it that. Even with a free burger each, our total OOP was still $12 for two burgers, fries, and a lemonade. Regular price would have been nearly $30! Totally not worth it, either. None of the food was all that great, so I can’t see us ever going there again.

That morning I finally located the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes ice cream at Dollar Tree of all places.

I had to reach out to the manufacturer, Hudsonville, to ask if they were being sold because they weren’t listed on their site, or on Walmart’s site, and they used to be a Walmart exclusive. They replied back with a list of stores which did not include Walmart. I’m glad, because I’m still boycotting Walmart. The last time we shopped there was in early June. If they don’t care to respond to my feedback about my poor experience in their store, then they don’t care if they lose me as a customer I guess. Although to be fair, I will probably buy more leggings from them at some point since so far I like their No Boundaries brand of leggings the best. But I’ve done my best to not buy anything else from them whereas we used to shop there at least once a month. Suck it, Walmart!

12/09 (Mon) – Won 100 stars via the Starbucks For a Year sweepstakes which was enough for a free handcrafted drink (which Joe used for a latte on 12/28).

Found the best cold brew coffee (which only our local grocery store, Woodman’s, carries) which pairs perfectly with Aldi’s peppermint iced mocha “coffee” which tastes more like flavored milk. It gave me just the right amount of peppermint without aggravating my acid reflux and I didn’t have to deal with Dunkin who can’t seem to make a good iced coffee these days if their lives depended on it.

Also learned there had been a Happy Endings podcast that was now on Spotify.

Very timely, as Joe and I just finished a re-watch of Happy Endings. Every time we watch it I’m so sad it was cancelled after only three seasons. Or more like two and a half since the first season was shorter than normal. They were truly ahead of their time. It’s no surprise that some of the writers on that show also wrote for my favorite show of all time, Brooklyn Nine Nine.

12/10 (Tue) – I’ve been searching for a green hoodie, so we went to Savers for the first time in probably a year. It was a total bust. We looked at clothing, as well as other items, and nothing was appealing. Painted Tree and Half Price Books were a bust as well.

The way they lock up the expensive vinyl records at HPB really bugs me.

See how narrow the slot is to flip through the records? Like they couldn’t have made that bigger but still small enough to stop anyone from pulling out a record. Plus they pack the box so full it’s difficult to even look at each record. I don’t bother with that box anymore because it’s too infuriating.

Tried some discount chicken strips (thanks to T-Mobile Tuesday) from Popeyes. They were pretty good, and easy to reheat in the air fryer. The breading on them reminds me of Long John Silvers, although the boneless wings (without sauce) taste even more like LJS’ chicken planks.

12/14 (Sat) – We decided to have a Polish feast for lunch, so we visited two different Polish delis to collect all the good things at each. I wish the deli closest to us had the best food, but unfortunately thus far the only thing they have that is better than the one further away is their stuffed cabbage. And truthfully, I think my own stuffed cabbage rivals both places. Too bad I’m so lazy about making it!

Finally finished the tree. Decided to switch things up this year with multicolor lights, a hodgepodge of ornaments, and the tree collar flipped opposite than usual.

12/18 (Wed) – I heard a rumor that Costco is switching to Coke products in their cafe. Guess I won’t be getting food from them anymore. I know I’m the minority, but I love Pepsi and it’s getting ridiculous how hard it is to come by a good fountain Pepsi these days. Culver’s had the best before they switched. Taco Bell’s is watered down garage. What a bummer.

12/19 (Thu) – Baked maraschino cherry chocolate chip cookies for the first time. While they didn’t come out looking anything like the recipe, they were quite tasty, so I will be making them again. In retrospect, I should have known something was off looking at the recipe photo.

Without red food coloring, there is no way to make the cookies that pink color. And there’s also no way with the amount of cherries called for to get such a large chunk of them in a cross-section. False advertising!

The recipe made 50 cookies, so I put some in the freezer along with the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I baked earlier in the month (in order to give some to my bestie for her birthday).

And this is what they actually looked like:

I think it’s safe to say looking at Nintendo’s year in review that I am not a console gamer.

I do enjoy playing the Nintendo Switch, so I’m not sure why I do it so infrequently. I play Disney’s Tsum Tsum game on my phone and iPad quite often, though. It’s too bad Apple doesn’t do a gaming year in review. I’d be really curious to see how much time I spend playing that game.

12/20 (Fri) – I quickly became addicted to these mini cranberry orange bisconies from Costco.

Although I think they should be called scuffins instead because they’re more like a cross between a scone and a muffin and not a biscotti and a scone like they claim. The funny thing is, I suggested we try them because Joe likes the cranberry orange Belvita biscuits, but I think I ended up liking them more than he did.

We decided to stay home on Christmas Eve this year instead of going to my parents. There were multiple reasons for this, not the least of which feeling depressed over Wookie’s absence, and getting anxious over the thought of being on the road during a time when people are more abt to drink and drive.

I made my famous three cheese grits casserole for breakfast and for early dinner we pulled leftover mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and cranberry sauce from the freezer (originally made at Thanksgiving) and added a 1.5 lb pre-sliced ham.

It was so good! Flavorful, not too fatty, and easy to heat up by the slice. I swear we’re just going to get one of them moving forward even if we have company in future years. It was plenty for several people.

Christmas Day was much of the same after we exchanged gifts, including watching multiple movies. I got Joe some grey sweatpants (IYKYK), a set of silicone tool trays, and a pour over coffee maker. He got me two bird shirts (which I’m going to exchange for a different fit), a bird calendar, and a set of 30 something buttons featuring The Cure.

After all the electronics spending recently (computer, TV, iPad) we decided not to go crazy on a present exchange this year.

Dinner was nearly identical to Christmas Eve except with the addition of green beans.

12/27 (Fri) – Got annoyed with Amazon’s subscribe and save which thought it made sense to double up on one of my items just because I kept pushing back the delivery. I assumed when I changed the delivery date it would be smart enough to know that was for a single item and not to send me two, but I guess it is more profitable if they pull that crap instead, right? Needless to say, I cancelled the subscribe and save on that as well as one other item that I probably don’t need on a strict schedule either.

Once my Paramount+ and Showtime discounted rate ends in February and we’re finished watching the latest Dexter prequel, whichever comes later, I am once again cancelling Amazon Prime. It’s $144 annually for what exactly? Free shipping you can get if your order is $35 or more even if you’re not a Prime member? Sure, you get Prime Video, but half the stuff in there is an extra rental fee and they now play commercials before a movie and multiple times during unless you pay them even more money. F that! There is nothing I need to watch that bad that I can justify paying them so much. We managed last year from March through November not having Prime and we can do it again. When I signed up it defaulted to the monthly subscription so I’m fairly certain we won’t be stuck with them a full year.

12/28 (Sat) – Found out I was one of the winners of the fall photography contest held by our birding club. The prize was bragging rights.

That afternoon we went to my bestie’s place to exchange Christmas gifts. I got her multiple items, but the funniest is she got me the complete series of Brooklyn Nine Nine on DVD, which I almost got for her, but I know she hates getting up to change discs, so I gave her a USB drive with the entire series on it instead, amongst other TV shows she likes. She should be able to watch them through her PS5.

12/29 (Sun) – Picked up some Christmas lights that were 50% off at Home Depot. We grabbed a few different style/lengths to try as a replacement for the ones we had around the patio door all year before I had the audacity to take them down in early December to put up multi-colored lights instead. When I put the previously flawlessly functioning lights back up, they wouldn’t turn on. We couldn’t find a loose bulb, and replacing the fuse did nothing. Such a bummer as they were the perfect length (approximately 25 feet). The replacement we ultimately chose to use (an incandescent set) are only 21 feet in length. I just didn’t care for the LED set (which was 28 feet long) because they seemed so bright even though they were a nice warm light. I cannot stand the pure white light LEDs that some people use.

I reached my reading goal this year with only two days to spare!

I always start the year out strong, even getting ahead of schedule, but once the weather warms up it goes downhill because I’d rather be out in nature or editing my photos. Next thing you know I’m behind on my reading and feel pressured to race through books to reach the goal I set. Therefore for 2025 I’m going to set a really low goal of 10 books so that I can enjoy reading when the mood strikes me without any self-induced pressure. I want to enjoy reading and not feel like it’s a chore.

12/30 (Mon) – Cleaned our seed bird feeder after hearing there’s an avian flu going around. It seems to be primarily affecting waterfowl, but the feeder needs regular cleaning anyway and it had been three weeks since I last did it. I don’t want my lovely birds getting sick!

12/31 (Tue) – Joe picked up a Mike’s Hot Honey pizza from Lou Malnati’s and we enjoyed a movie. Afterwards we flipped through some of the streaming services that were broadcasting live New Year’s Eve content, but it was all terribly boring, including Peacock’s year in review show hosted by Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. The fireworks around the world broadcast was interesting for a short time, but overall it was lame. Joe was falling asleep on the couch by 9:30 and we moved upstairs where he went to bed while I surfed online and chatted with my brother until the fireworks died down around 12:30 am. And I wish nothing but stubbed toes every day in 2025 for the person who thought blowing off more fireworks at 1:15 am was a good idea.

Notable movies this month:

The Advent Calendar (2021) – Really enjoyed trying to guess where things were going in this Christmas horror movie.

Secret Santa (2018) – Yet another horror film centered around the holiday. This one turned brutal, but it was also quite engaging.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – Most people are familiar with and have seen this movie before, and I thought I was one of them, but it turns out I only remember the very last part of the movie and don’t think I had ever seen the movie from start to finish. It’s quite good.

Carry-on (2024) – Were there are a lot of inaccuracies between airport operations and how planes work? Yes. Was it engaging regardless? Also yes. And honestly, isn’t that the ultimate goal of any movie, to be entertained? And I was.

Juror #2 (2024) – This one really made you think what you’d do in the main character’s situation. My biggest gripe was how they left the ending open to interpretation.

Ricky Stanicky (2024) – I’m really loving John Cena in comedic roles, and this movie was no exception. Sometimes a stupid fun comedy is just what you need.

They Came Together (2014) – I was recently listening to Max Greenfield on the Happy Endings podcast when he mentioned working with Jason Mantzoukas on a movie. I took to IMBD to track down the movie in question which was this. It seemed familiar, but also not, and had a lot of actors I like so I gave it a shot. It was a little more slapstick-y than I care for, but still entertaining enough. The most disappointing part was how normal Jason Mantzoukas’ character was in it. He truly shines when he plays an insane person.

October Recap

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10/02 (Wed) – Discovered the deliciousness of pork schnitzel.

10/04-10/06 – Extended Weekend Recap

10/06 (Sun) – The first dark-eyed juncos of the year were spotted behind our house.

10/08 (Tue) – Started using eBird checklists which can be fun, if not a bit frustrating when entering species into the app. I like being able to add my photos to the checklist later on, though. I’m very much into documenting things, so I’m not sure why I didn’t get into birding checklists sooner. It’s like Pokemon Go, but with birds!

Finally saw the Northern Lights, aka Aurora Borealis.

10/09 (Wed) – Updated my iPhone to iOS 18. Liking the new photos app in particular. I think it’ll be time for a new phone next year as I heard this is the last iOS that will be available for the iPhone 11. I haven’t had any issues with this phone, but I am looking forward to getting one with better cameras.

10/10 (Thu) – Pulled out my newest Halloween decor purchases. The ghost solar light (Dollar Tree) ended up being a cool white LED which I didn’t care for, so no more were purchased. The towel (also Dollar Tree) was hung from the oven handle, and the bat (from Old Time Pottery) was hung from the left side of the fireplace mantel.

Shared a photo on Facebook of the orange mums from Meijer still looking good, with an owl I added to the hanging basket.

Took another stab at photographing the Northern Lights with my phone.

10/11 (Fri) – Decorated for Halloween inside.

Went to Mallard Lake after Joe got off work and spotted this beautiful juvenile bald eagle.

The sky was also pretty at the end of our walk as the sun was getting closer to setting.

10/12-10/13 – Weekend Recap

10/15 (Tue) – Got a halfway decent photo of the comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS.

10/16 (Wed) – Lincoln Marsh

10/19-10/20 – Weekend Recap

10/20 (Sun) – Started practicing standing on one leg to see how long I could do it since reading it’s good for one’s mental and physical health. Proud to report I was able to go a full minute on each leg and only 40 seconds was needed in my age group.

Also saw my first ever Blue Jay behind the house. It was eating some of the bird seed I had put by the tree. I could not grab my camera quickly enough to get photographic evidence.

Went to Aldi, only to find they rearranged the majority of the aisles. Nothing makes sense anymore!

10/21 (Mon) – Got our first male downy woodpecker at the suet feeder. He has a spicy attitude and will peck at any sparrow trying to access the feeder, so we named him Loki. Our talkative female downy is named Lulu, so we are doing L names I guess. We haven’t yet named what we think is a second female downy.

10/22 (Tue) – We had a hawk sneaking around out back looking for a meal.

10/23-10/27 – Anniversary Extended Weekend

10/28 (Mon) – Spent a lot of time sitting out on the patio knowing the last nice day was coming soon. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through winter.

10/29 – Air Fryer review

10/31 – Halloween

New Food & Beverage Recommendations

7-UP Shirley Temple.

I’m not sure what it’s supposed to taste like, but I liked the flavor, so I plan to get more.

Trader Joe’s Sesame Honey Cashews

A little pricey at $8, but very yummy! We only eat a small handful at a time.

Notable movies this month:

We watched 1-2 horror movies every night in October, and these are the ones we had never seen before which I thought were the best.

Don’t Hang Up – I had some issues with the killer’s motive, not to mention a few plot holes, and I wasn’t scared by this, but it was interesting enough to keep me off my phone so that’s a successful movie in my book.

Gonjiam Haunted Aslym – Actually creepy, if not predictible.

Late Night With The Devil – Very unique premise that kept us glued to the TV trying to figure out where it was going on.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil – Horror comedy that kept us entertained.

July Recap

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We didn’t do too much this month thanks to the crazy hot weather most of the time, but the things we did do were pretty significant:

07/11 (Thu) – Saw Strangelove, The Depeche Mode Experience at Addison’s free concert in the park.

We sat as far back from the stage as possible and even then I felt my ears were being blasted. My phone’s decibel meter was registering the sound as being in ear-damaging territory. I was getting ready to suggest to Joe that we leave when I suddenly remembered putting high fidelity concert earplugs in my fanny pack about a week before. Not even sure why I did it. I believe at the time I was thinking it probably would be a good idea to always have some ear protection easily accessible because of my sensitive ears.

I bought them back in April 2019 but got sick shortly thereafter so never had an opportunity to use them. They felt weird at first, but were pretty comfortable after awhile. I could still hear the music perfectly fine and no extra tinnitus after the concert. I consider that a win! I don’t think I’d risk attending an indoor concert, though, but would feel ok outdoors with these ear plugs. Wish I had been aware of them years ago and maybe my ears wouldn’t be damaged now. I haven’t attend many concerts compared to a lot of people, but I do remember having tinnitus after them which didn’t go away until I went to sleep.

Anyway, the venue was way more crowded than we were expecting, but I’m glad we decided to check it out anyway because the band sounded just like Depeche Mode and played many of our favorite songs. This one family sitting in front of us was annoying, though, letting their kids run around everywhere which was rather distracting, but overall it was still a nice night out. Weather was perfect too. We don’t really go out like that much so it was a nice experience.

What’s funny is if it hadn’t been for us trying to find the second location of this little seasonal garden called Murphy’s Farm a week beforehand, we wouldn’t have even known about the concert. We went to the farm’s usual location and it was empty, so we decided to try and find their main location which we had never visited. It was closed too (apparently they only operate in the spring), but there were signs on the main street nearby advertising the free concert.

07/13 (Sat) – Adopted a dog – a Schnoodle named Olive

This is her sleeping on my lap.

Spoiler alert – it didn’t work out thanks to my broken right ear. :(

07/21 (Sun) After more than a month of eating through the food in the freezer, it was finally empty enough for a big Trader Joe’s trip. Look at all that yummy food!

07/24 (Wed) – Found this bat wreath at Home Goods. I didn’t need another Halloween decoration, but it was too cool to pass up.

07/26 (Fri) – Joe took the day off work so we went to Peck Farm Park to visit their butterfly tent. Afterwards we went to another park to walk around, then stopped for a little snack at Andy’s Custard. Joe had seen an advertisement for a key lime pie custard mixer, so we shared a medium which was delicious, but pricey (nearly $9). We grabbed some lunch on the way home and then decided to go swimming in our complex’s pool. It’s literally been years since we were last there, but we arrived shortly after they opened so it was pretty empty and peaceful. We spent about an hour there. I was a little concerned about getting burned, which would be ironic, since we just had our annual skin checks at the dermatologist the day before, because the sunscreen we have for the pool expired years ago. Luckily it still worked, but I did buy some new sunscreen a few days later.

07/27 (Sat) – Went to a shelter to meet a dog named Penelope we were interested in. She was being fostered, so we had to arrange a time for the foster to meet us at the shelter. She was listed as a Yorkie, but we quickly found out from the foster mom she was part Dachshund, which the shelter should have listed since they themselves had rescued this dog’s mom too! So they knew what she was mixed with and still didn’t disclose it. Had we known, we wouldn’t have wasted anyone’s time. As soon as I put the dog on my lap there was white fur all over my pants. So aggravating! We are specifically looking for a small non-shedding dog similar to Wookie, but these places often don’t list enough information for us to determine if they are a good fit before having to meet with them which is such a waste of time and effort for everyone involved.

This shelter does some pretty annoying things in general –

1) They neglect to post any photos of some of the dogs even after being asked to do so. Everyone has a phone with a camera these days so there’s no excuse for not being able to a single photo of a dog, if not several.

2) They put a general message about coming to the shelter to meet the dog even when the dog is being fostered and isn’t at the actual shelter. If you don’t notice the small section that lists the location as Foster Home, you will end up visiting the shelter for nothing.

3) They don’t disclose any information about the temperament of the dog even when it’s been with them or in a foster home for weeks. At that point they should have information about it. Why not post what they know to help people decide ahead of time if they even want to meet the dog? When I’m on Petfinder and Adopt-A-Pet I will often see a dog that is listed as having separation anxiety, for example, so I know to skip past them. It saves everyone time, not to mention reduces the chance of someone having to bring a dog back, so I don’t get why this shelter doesn’t care about giving out as much information as possible. People should have an idea of what they are getting into when adopting a dog. Do people just go blindly into a shelter, pick a dog based on looks, and take it home? That seems like a recipe for disaster.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they seem to get more of the breeds we’re looking for than the other rescues in the area, I wouldn’t bother with them anymore. It sucks to have to drive a half hour to the shelter just to quickly learn something about the dog that, had they listed it, we wouldn’t have pursued. They currently have another dog on their site listed as a Yorkie but no photos or a description even though it’s been posted for weeks. It’s so aggravating!

07/28 (Sun) – Visited my friend, K. She was dog-sitting two Schnauzers who were cuter and had softer fur than other Schnauzers I’ve seen. Apparently the owners get all their dogs from the same breeder so they have good genes. Surprisingly, their high pitch barks didn’t bother my ear, which I was expecting after our experience with Olive (who was half Schnauzer, which I was told is a breed with a very high-pitched bark).

Later in the afternoon we were invited to visit K’s brother’s house. They recently got a new puppy – a Maltese Shih Tzu mix. She is adorable! K’s parents were there with their poodle too, who we hadn’t met before but came right up to us and was friendly. K said she’s never like that, so that made me feel special. In fact, K said she is a lot like Wookie was – very standoffish with other people and dogs. She still was that way with the puppy but I’m sure will warm up to her with more exposure. We were invited to stay for dinner but decided not to accept, then regretted that later. Oh well, hopefully we’ll have another opportunity soon. I love K’s family, whom we’ve met before at K’s birthday parties. They are warm and welcoming. I wish they were my family!

Anyway, that was July. I don’t know why the universe is hating on me right now when it comes to finding a dog, but it sucks. I miss Wookie so damn much and I don’t expect a new dog to ever replace her, but I do think it will heal my heart a little.

Notable movies and series this month:

The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham (DVD) – Borrowed this from the library. Was pretty entertaining, and had some funny parts, but I feel like they had some bee-related missed opportunities.

Mike & Molly (Max) – Back when this series first aired I was in my Melissa McCarthy hater era, but I’ve since gotten over that. Glad I did, because this show is good!

Young Sheldon (Max) – I never had a single desire to watch this show, but we just finished re-watching The Big Bang Theory, so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, and we both like it much more than we anticipated. Every character is interesting, and I didn’t realize the actress who plays Sheldon’s mom is the real-life daughter of the actress who plays his mom in TBBT. How cool is that?