Category: Movies

October Recap

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10/01 (Sun) – Picked up some mums for $6 each at Meijer. Only got two this year – orange and “purple”, which really ended up being more of a magenta color. Between my neglect, the squirrels, and the cold weather, they didn’t do well this year. I think next year I will get one orange one and leave it at that.

Later in the day I added a new bird to my life list – a Belted Kingfisher!

10/02 (Mon) – Had a very unpleasant experience at Dollar Tree where the cashier shoveled some candy into her mouth, practically licking her palm, right before fingering my merchandise. Gross!

10/03 (Tue) – Got freaked out by the cans of Wookie’s wet food I had recently purchased. Luckily it was just a weather related thing that had made the fat rise to the top and congeal and it wasn’t spoiled. I did end up exchanging the unopened cans with new ones though.

10/04 (Wed) – Decorated for Halloween inside

10/07 (Sat) – Bought a 50 lb bag of black oil sunflower seeds at Menards and set up a hanging platform feeder in the hopes to draw in birds. The squirrels have been relentless trying to get into it, but it’s also attracted sparrows and house finches, as well as two woodpeckers thus far. The dark-eyed juncos won’t go inside it, but they do hop around underneath looking for scraps.

Had to end our 30 day streak of not needing to run the HVAC at all and turn on the heat. It was good while it lasted!

10/08 (Sun) – Finally saw warblers at the arboretum!

10/10 (Tue) – Was washing my hands in the kitchen sink when I spotted a red-tailed hawk in the tree right behind our house. For a split second I thought it was an owl, but it was exciting nonetheless. Luckily I’ve been keeping my camera on the dining room table so I was able to quickly grab it and take a ton of shots before it flew off. Our new patio door is so nice and clear. I never would have been able to get good shots through the old one.

10/12 (Thu) – Picked up a new delicious dip from Costco – Buffalo Style Chicken by Good Foods.

10/13 (Fri) – Tried McDonald’s new limited time sweet & spicy jam. It’s delicious! It’s just flavored corn syrup, though, so I probably won’t get it again anytime soon.

10/14 (Sat) – Went to Trader Joe’s for the first time in quite awhile and went a bit crazy. We’re really loving sautéing peppers with cubed potatoes for breakfast, amongst other things.

10/17 (Wed) – Great horned owls in the backyard.

10/22 (Sun) – Toured 8 Halloween decorated homes in Carol Stream. We decided to forgo the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour in St. Charles this year. It’s a lot of driving that we were just not up to, especially with how much energy we expend during the day hiking forest preserves.

10/25 (Wed) – The neighbor in the building perpendicular to ours finally turned off his patio light for the first time in weeks. It is so bright at night and since I’ve yet to choose a blackout shade for our new windows, the drapes I have up were not stopping it from making the room rather bright. My sleep seems to be improved since he turned it off.

Also found out Bibibop will soon be opening a location way closer to our home than the one we go to in Oak Brook. Yay!

10/28 (Sat) – Finally saw a Great Horned Owl thanks to a new friend I made who frequents many of the same spots we do. She was kind enough to meet up with us at a local forest preserve and show us where it and its mate like to roost.

10/29 (Sun) – Jolted awake at 12:30 am by someone popping off fireworks. Why are people so inconsiderate?!? Lately if I wake up in the middle of the night I cannot go back to sleep easily. I was up for an hour and a half after that. Thanks, shitty neighbor.

10/31 (Tue) – Got a group of 10 trick-or-treaters at 4:30 pm and not a single kid after that. Joe had run to Target on his way home from work to buy another bag of candy that we never ended up needing. We later returned it and learned they have to throw all returned candy in the trash, so we won’t get freaked out next year and if for some crazy reason we run out of candy we’ll just turn off the light. The kids were really psyched about the microwave popcorn we gave out with the candy. One kid exclaimed “yay, movie night!” and it was adorable.

(Costco sells their Kirkland brand popcorn for $15 and you get 44 bags. It’s a steal, and way more popcorn than we can ever eat before it expires.)

Enjoyed the following movies and series in October:

Meg 2: The Trench – I hadn’t heard good things about this movie, but I’ll watch anything with Jason Statham in it. Well, I’m glad I did because this was so funny! I’m not sure if it was meant to be, but you couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the plot.

Spree – Kurt Kunkle is a rideshare driver who has figured out a deadly plan to go viral. Kept our attention and had some good laughs too.

Sprung – Not sure how I missed hearing about this comedy, but I’m liking it. Stars the two actors who played the parents in Raising Hope and has that kind of humor.

Totally Killer – Back To The Future meets horror comedy. Yes please!

Kath & Kim – A New Zealand based sitcom that should have had more seasons. “Look at me, look at me, look.at.me”.

Haunted Mansion (2023) – This updated version was done quite well. I prefer it to the Eddie Murphy one.

Deadstream – I plan to watch this every spooky season. A YouTuber decides to spend a night alone in an abandoned house that’s said to be haunted and live stream it. He has cameras in other rooms as well and interacts with his viewers as things go down. It was both scary and funny. There were jump-scares, one of which made us scream, and scenes so ridiculous we were in tears.

Strays – This movie, along with Barbie and Deadstream, all came in at the library at the same time. I assumed Barbie would be the breakout star, but it was the worst (although still enjoyable), and this was the funniest. I’m usually not a fan of the CGI talking dog schtick, but here it just works. It’s vulgar and not meant for kids, and people who get offended by cursing and poop jokes won’t like it, but I thought it was fun and plan to watch it again.

The Fall of the House of Usher – If you liked The Haunting of Hill House or The Haunting of Bly Manor, you’ll love this since they’re all created by Mike Flanagan and star many of the same actors.

Slotherhouse – This is labeled a horror comedy but it’s less horror than it is comedy. It is hilarious because of its ridiculousness. A killer sloth that can drive a car and has a social media account? Ok! Definitely watching this one again.

Two Weekends of Movies, Dogs, and Apple Stuff

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Last Saturday (03/30) we saw Us with both my brothers (and R) and afterwards they came back to the house to hang out for a bit. The movie was… ok. I don’t agree with those who have said it was better than Get Out, but I would like to see it a second time to see what I missed the first time around.

Joe has been traveling for work a lot, so he took a Friday and Monday off so we could have a three day weekend together.

Friday (04/05) we saw Shazam which is hands down the best DC movie I’ve seen yet. I really didn’t care for Wonder Woman or Aquaman (so cheesy and just bad), but Shazam was interesting and humorous. I was shocked to find out, as we sat down in the theater, that it was over two hours long, though. I found the beginning a bit slow, but overall the pacing was good. After the movie we had lunch at Anyways and I got the shrimp avocado tacos again which were delicious just like last time. Joe was going to get the meatloaf but our total wouldn’t have been enough to use our $5 off coupon, so he changed it to beef stew. After the waitress walked away I noticed the coupon was only good Sun-Thu so I told him he should change it to the meatloaf but he decided to give the beef stew a try anyway and ended up really liking it. I got to try some and I agree it was delicious. When we were finished eating the waitress asked about the coupon (I had told her I had one earlier before I realized it wasn’t good) and I told her the issue. She honored it anyway which was nice!

Saturday (04/06) we spent some time hanging out with K and her dog at her house. We ordered Thai food for lunch. I was surprised to learn she likes Pad Se Ew just like me since she’s very much about eating plain food. After lunch we took the dogs for a walk since it was so nice outside. Once we got home from K’s house, Joe cleaned his car and I did a little light cleaning since I skipped it Friday. I like feeling accomplished, and keeping on top of household tasks helps. I also backed up my phone in preparation for an Apple Store visit on Sunday to replace the battery now that Apple supposedly allows this even with third party batteries installed. I couldn’t get a representative online to confirm this, however, so a visit to the store was necessary.

Sunday (04/07) we arrived at the Apple store before they officially opened at 11 am, which was my appointment time, so we walked to the Starbucks nearby for Joe to grab a drink. It was raining out which stinks since temperature-wise it was nice out, and the store is part of an outdoor mall, but we had umbrellas so it wasn’t too bad. The Apple genius confirmed they do now replace third party batteries, but they can’t do it unless the battery is at 50% or lower. Well, thanks for telling me that ahead of time! My battery was at 98% since I had charged it that morning. They offered to take it in the back and replace the battery once it ran down, but I was not having that. Instead, I turned the screen to always on, at maximum brightness, turned on the flashlight, and starting playing Tsum Tsum. We left the store and went to a food court area while I drained the battery. It only took about 45 minutes because the battery sucks. So much so, that once it hit 48% the phone just shut off (it has been doing that for about a month now). So back to the store we went to have them replace the battery. That took another half hour so we spent that time wandering the mall. All total it took two hours of our time because they can’t warn you about this stuff beforehand. Infuriating. Luckily we didn’t have other plans that day at least.

On the way home we stopped at a new to us BBQ place called Fire Water BBQ. I was stoked about their prices, but the food itself left much to be desired. They have five different sauces and I only barely liked one. The brisket was dry and bland and the sweet potato fries were too sweet (they sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar). Won’t be going back there.

At home I did a little shifting of some clothes in the closet and Joe went through some of his t-shirts and jeans. Between the two of us, we had a garbage bag full of clothing to donate.

Today we made a point to get up early (6:15 am) to help get us back on schedule for work tomorrow. We did some grocery shopping before going to Savers. Joe wanted to look at hoodies and I wanted some long t-shirts to go with my leggings and a dress to wear to a friend’s wedding. We struck out on all fronts, although I did get too long-sleeved shirts I liked.

We also stopped by the park district to purchase an annual pass for the dog park since it’s finally starting to get warm enough for us to go there again. Haven’t been there since November, but this year I decided not to wait until July to buy the pass at half price since we should get a lot of trips in prior to that.

We decided to grab lunch at Chilis which we both enjoyed. They have some really nice $8 and $9 lunches and it didn’t cost us anything out of pocket thanks to our Discover cash back rewards. I’m surprised we don’t go to Chilis more often since we’ve liked everything we’ve ordered the last two times we’ve eaten there. Speaking of Discover cashback, we used those rewards to get an Old Navy gift card on Sunday because Joe founds some light-weight hoodies there he liked. Gotta love that!

After lunch we came home and I took Wookie for a walk while Joe straightened up his side of the garage a bit. There’s more to be done, and my side needs a decluttering again as well. I plan on getting rid of two aquariums and all the hamster-related stuff I have because if I do get small pets in the future it will be rats, not a stupid hamster. Might as well clear the space all the hamster stuff is currently taking up!

I also worked out on the elliptical which makes three days in a row. I really want to lose some weight before the summer because I feel too lumpy in all the wrong places.

Best Teeth Award & Couples Date

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Friday (03/01) we went to a new dentist for our 6 month cleaning. We didn’t care for the one we went to last year because they seemed to overdo everything in an effort to get as much money from the insurance as possible. They did a whole head x-ray which, while cool, is overkill. Insurance only covers it once every five years, so that’s pretty telling. They also told Joe he needed a deep cleaning (and refused to do his regular cleaning), which the new dentist didn’t feel was necessary. So good riddance. I do like our new dentist, although their front staff is a bit questionable – I found a copy of someone else’s driver’s license on the back of the paperwork they asked me to fill out. There were also two copies of the same form so when the woman pointed out I didn’t fill out something, I had to point out I didn’t need to fill out the same form twice. *rolls eyes*

Our hygienist was ok, albeit a bit odd and intense. When she was pointing out some plaque in a bottom tooth, I acknowledged her by saying ok, and she responded “it’s not ok”. No shit, I was just trying to say something with your tools in my mouth, you moron. Anyway…

The dentist remarked that I have the nicest teeth she’s seen in the practice, so I’ve been lording that over Joe ever since. I wonder if the relative ease of this latest visit was in part due to me actually flossing occasionally. I also started using ACT mouthwash at night.

Ever since our visit, I’ve been flossing every night, then brushing with my electric toothbrush, and then using the ACT mouthwash. In the morning I just brush with a manual brush since all I’m really doing is freshening my breath. I want my dentist’s prediction – that I’ll keep all my teeth for life – to come true.

The topic of our dentist visit came up over dinner on Saturday (03/02) with our friends, K & E. We first went to a matinee showing of The Upside starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston, which was good. It’s been probably a decade since we’ve been to The Marcus Theater in Addison even though we’d drive all the way there from Oak Lawn when we were first dating. Eh, I’m not all that impressed. Our friends prefer it, so we gave it a shot, but it’s pretty expensive. Our two tickets were $19 whereas at the mall by us it would have been $9, or $15 at the other theater we like with the reclining seats.

So dinner was at a restaurant we had eaten at once a decade or so ago and never went back. Well, now I know why. I ordered the ribs and fried chicken combo with a side of mac & cheese and garlic mashed potatoes. NONE of those things were very good. The chicken was dry, tough, and flavorless, plus not all that warm when it came out. None of my food was, although Joe didn’t have that problem (he also ordered fried chicken), so maybe mine was an older batch. The ribs could have been cooked longer, plus I didn’t care for the sauce they used. The mac and cheese was worse than Kraft taste-wise, and the mashed potatoes tasted possibly fake, plus were cold (my butter wouldn’t melt). I felt bad because our friends really like the place, and eagerly wanted to know what I thought. I had to be honest and say I wouldn’t come back, lest we end up eating there again. It felt especially awkward because they were paying (we had paid the previous time we went out), but I didn’t go into detail like I have here. K is pretty blunt herself, so hopefully she wasn’t offended by my polite distaste for my meal.

So anyway, about that dentist visit discussion….

E mentioned how he flosses daily and was giving Joe so much grief over not doing so. But I ended up giving E grief because he admitted he flosses in the morning. I’m like what good does that do after the food was sitting between your teeth rotting all night? How much you want to bet next time I see him he’ll have switched to flossing before bed? He’s conscientious like that. In fact, E and I tend to be alike whereas K and Joe are. Both E and I are always cold and have to pee frequently, whereas K and Joe can hold it all day and night and are always complaining about being warm. The similarities don’t end there either, and have become a joke how we need to switch SOs.

Other notable weekend activities:

Created a cute candlescape in the dining room with the candles I got on clearance last year.

Dropped off three boxes of donations at Savers.

Purchased dried sweet potato treats for Wookie at Home Goods, which she loves.

Decluttered my nail polish into one container instead of two. They just barely fit, and my plan is to try some shades that are questionable and throw them out if I don’t like them or if the consistency has gone bad. At some point I might just start getting my nails done professionally since my home jobs last 2-3 days at best before starting to chip.

Hair Cut & Ultrasound

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Saturday (02/23) I had my hair cut at one of those training academies. My optometrist’s daughter is going to school there so she cut my hair. I went a bit too short – I had about 5-6 inches taken off and now my hair is flipping out instead of under like I prefer. That always happens when it just hits my shoulders, so that’s going to be annoying for a few months until it grows another inch or so. It is nice not having to deal with all the tangling, though, because it was just too long and I kept putting off getting it cut because I’m never happy with the end result. No matter how I explain it, they can never quite get it how I want. Maybe I am unreasonable. But it’s even, and now that it’s shorter I can get away with not blow drying it every day and it looks ok. It even looked ok today without having to wash it, so that’s a bonus, especially because it got washed three times on Saturday. I washed it before my appointment not knowing they have to wash and condition it before the cut as part of their training. Then later that day I washed it again because my head always feels itchy after a cut. So now my poor scalp is a bit dry. I’m glad I didn’t have to wash it this morning as to give it a little break.

Sunday (02/24) we went to a matinee showing of Happy Death Day 2U which was… interesting. It was a bit hard to follow and had some plot holes (what movie doesn’t?), so I think I preferred the simplicity of the original, but the sequel wasn’t bad either. It’s definitely one that makes more sense if you see the original first, though.

This morning I had an ultrasound of my gallbladder, etc. and what a frickin shit show that turned into!

I arrived 15 minutes early per their directions and was told the tech was running late and wouldn’t be in until 9:30 am. So I opted to go home and come back since it’s less than 10 minutes from the house. When they called a bit later to tell me she will definitely be in at 9:30, I should have been more skeptical because the story was she locked her keys in her car and would be leaving her house at 9:15 am. Considering it wasn’t even 9 am when they called to relay this info, that meant she THOUGHT she’d be done at that time. Because if she already had her keys why wouldn’t she had already left her house? So I arrived at 9:35 am and could tell by the call I overheard that she still hadn’t left her house. What kind of rude ass bitch waits until AFTER the time she’s supposed to be at work, a place that has patients waiting for you according to a schedule, to call and give an update?

I was about to go off on them and cancel my appointment but somehow they were able to have a different tech do the procedure. Which was painful, by the way. And isn’t supposed to be according to the woman. So either it hurt because of my fibro, or I’ve got tumors all over me or something. She did say I was very gassy. Maybe that’s because even though I didn’t eat per their instructions, I wasn’t told what kind of food to eat at dinner which would have helped things (non-fat per my cousin who has had the procedure before). Also, I was told not to drink either and that was incorrect. Drinking water could have aided in my food digesting better and having less gas. So note to self – research the proper way to prepare for the procedure since these people don’t know how to communicate effectively. Ugh! Just glad that is over. I cleaned the upstairs between my two trips there so now I can spend the rest of the day relaxing if I so choose.

Glass

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Last Saturday (01/19) was my birthday party at my parents’ house, if you can even call it that. For some unknown reason my mom didn’t have any desserts or sing happy birthday to me even though she does for my brothers and even Joe. I only got presents from my brother, J (B did buy me a very delicious Hawaiian pizza), although J claims some of the presents were also from my mom. I didn’t get any cards, either. I am not sure why I’m dismissed so much by my family, but I’m rather sick of it. Everyone cares about B and J’s feelings but mine aren’t even considered. I had even purchased my mom a gift for MY birthday, although once I told her about it a week or so beforehand, she insisted I return it without even giving it a chance. She’s been having trouble with her Netflix so I bought her an Amazon Fire Cube which is the only device that allows you to hard-wire your internet. I explained the situation to Woot and luckily they allowed me to return it with a prepaid label which is not the normal return process for items you just don’t want anymore. I’m done trying to help her with her technical issues. It seems she’s more interested in complaining than actually finding solutions. She’s all pissy about not being able to choose her own items so she takes it out on me when B bought her a DVD player and TV a few years back and she didn’t insist he return those. But that’s how it goes in my family – other people do things she doesn’t like but she takes it out on me.

ANYWAY….

Sunday (01/20) we went to a movie and dinner with our friends, K & E. We saw Glass, which all of us but K enjoyed. She actually turned to us once it ended and said, “is it me, or did that movie SUCK?” Um, just you. She really doesn’t use a lot of tact with things as you can see. I still love her, but sometimes it’s a bit hard to take especially when she’s ripping on something you like. I actually thought the movie was one of the best ones I’ve seen in awhile. We went to dinner at a local place called Anyways which we’ve never been to before. I had the avocado shrimp tacos which were delicious. After dinner, despite it being something like 10 degrees out, we got frozen yogurt. I’m not sure if it was the flavors I chose (pineapple and strawberry) or what but I didn’t particularly care for it.

Monday (01/21) We enjoyed a free breakfast at Chick-fil-a. Well, not entirely free. We got their egg white grill sandwiches for free but also tried their yogurt parfait and Joe got a coffee. Their greek yogurt is actually really good but it’s kinda pricey at $3.45. After breakfast we did a bit of shopping before heading home. Joe put up a new sign over the front door I had gotten at Kirkland’s late last year. He also cleaned his new office chair which I had gotten for free from work.

We didn’t do much this weekend other than run errands since it’s so cold outside.