Category: Food

Mom’s Birthday Party

Posted on

Yesterday was the first day in a long time where I didn’t feel on edge with anxiety. It felt really good. I was so relaxed that on the drive home from my parents I was able to play my Tsum Tsum game on my phone without looking up (Joe was driving, obviously). Usually when we’re on the road late at night I’m constantly surveying the landscape trying to keep my eyes out for bad drivers who might cause an accident.

I have no idea why my anxiety temporarily took a vacation, but it was quite a strange feeling. I almost forgot what it feels like not to feel anxious. Isn’t that terrible? I had a lot going on that day too so it’s surprising I wasn’t more on edge. I prepared spaghetti and meatballs for dinner that evening as well as baked a batch of cupcakes, cleaned the rats’ cages, and made a salted caramel pecan cheesecake dip. I wanted to work out as well but after doing more dishes than I have in months my back was killing me. I took an ibuprofen before we left the house at 5:30 pm which really helped – I was pain free all night.

Both my cousins were able to make it to celebrate my mom’s birthday. J had ordered Domino’s pizza and my mom had other food which was a little surprising since I was under the impression we were in charge of all the food. As a result I made way more spaghetti than was needed so I left a bunch with my mom to freeze for J since he’s the one who requested it in the first place. We brought it in the crockpot so we could easily heat it and up and keep it warm, but I think that caused it to dry out a little so I might have to add more sauce to the leftovers we’ll be having for dinner tonight.

B had purchased a game called Pin the C*ck on the Jock complete with different sized penises. It was very funny especially some of the photos we got which I won’t be sharing here! B wanted me to text him one of the photos I took of him so I used that opportunity to point out I didn’t think his phone was working since he never replies to my texts. He claimed to not have received them and said AT&T’s coverage sucks. I never really had that experience with AT&T so I’m not entirely sure I believe him. I think he’s just too self-involved. I just wonder if I will ever just accept that we are never going to have the kind of relationship I want, you know, where he actually cares about what I’m up to and all that. I didn’t really even talk to him most of the evening although I couldn’t help asking him about his upcoming trip to Florida since it will be his first time visiting Disney World since he was very little. I just wish we could have had a real conversation about it but he gets so weird like he thinks you’re interrogating him when you’re just showing interest. Unless it’s a topic he wants to discuss and then he will talk your face off. Ugh, it’s so one-sided and yet I continue to hope it’s going to change. Why is it so hard for me to accept people for who they are and not what I wish they were?

Anyway, after my cousins left I brought out the Jellybelly Beanboozled (4th edition) game I had purchased awhile back at Target for $5.

20161009_023822891_ios

20161009_024905280_ios

At first it was B, J, and me, although Joe joined in when I needed a break from the disgusting flavors. Dead fish was the worst, although I think they should call it rotten fish since all fish you eat is dead and it’s not that bad. J would eat the entire bean but as soon as I bit into it if it was a terrible flavor I spit it out. I ended up giving the leftover jellybeans to B so he could play it with his g/f or prank someone with them. Ew, never again! It was pretty funny, though, so there’s the entertainment factor, but once is enough.

We also played Left Center Right and a few games of Uno before it was almost midnight and we needed to leave. We listened to Electric Playground on Q101 on the ride home and I fell asleep to it as well. I actually turned it on during our Uno games and both my brothers teased me for being into EDM and cracking druggie jokes. This coming from one guy who likes Skrillex and the other who likes Insane Clown Posse, so pffft.

Rude Offer Up People

Posted on

Last Friday afternoon we went over to a friend’s house so Joe could help set up her new cable box and make sure her router was secure. She had posted on Facebook looking to pay someone to do this so it was nice to earn a little extra money. Afterwards we stopped at Walmart and bought a new basketball for only $5. The two at home won’t stay inflated and there’s some nice empty courts at two of the parks we like to frequent and I’ve been wanting to shoot some hoops. Of course with the colder/rainy weather lately I haven’t had the chance to actually try out the new ball yet.

We also ended up at Sonic for dinner and had corn dogs because we eat like children sometimes. Case in point, later the same weekend we made Velveeta mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs.

Saturday morning we stopped at the library so Joe could donate blood. They really did a number on his arm this time: he’s all bruised. I was like “welcome to my world” since that happens to me every single time and why I am not donating any more (besides almost passing out last time).

After that we decided to check our town’s Oktoberfest since admission is free before 4 pm. It was ok but not terribly exciting, just as we suspected. We shared a pork schnitzel sandwich and a soft pretzel. The pretzel was a disappointment but the sandwich was pretty good. Not sure if was $7 good though.

That evening we borrowed Captain America Civil War from the library and ordered Lou Malnati’s thin crust pizza using a gift card. I don’t know why but the thin crust wasn’t nearly as good as I remember it being so we’ll be sticking to their deep dish from now on.

Sunday we put E’s old bed frame and mattress up for sale for $50 on Offer Up (an app). He hasn’t spent the night here in months and likely won’t again so we’re turning his bedroom into a workout room. Not five minutes from posting I had three interested parties. At one point I believe it was over ten! I tried to be fair by messaging the first person who contacted me explaining they had to take the frame AND mattress and asking if they were still interested and then waiting, but they didn’t reply. After over an hour I moved onto the next person on the list with the same message. After three people didn’t reply back I was getting rather annoyed so I decided to send the same message to everyone and include that they needed to get back to me ASAP since there was a lot of interest. The guy who replied the quickest said he could be over within fifteen minutes. Once he arrived and he and his wife checked the bed (turns out the frame was a bit damaged on the side that was against the wall) and paid us, I marked it as sold in the app. This apparently sends a generic message to all the people who had messaged me that says “I have sold the item”. Well, one woman responded “to someone else” and then about three minutes later wrote “fucking bitch”. Wow. Now, I get that she wanted the bed, and she did reply to my first message about ten minutes after I sent it, but what the hell? She didn’t reply faster than the guy who bought it so you snooze, you lose. I don’t believe she originally messaged me before he did either. In any case, I didn’t bother responding and instead just reported her for using foul language and blocked her. Some people!

Flu Shot & Festivals

Posted on

Saturday morning we stopped at Chick-fil-A for breakfast (we each got a sandwich for free via their app) and then headed to the doctor so I could get my annual flu shot. With the new insurance I had to be careful not to discuss any health concerns with her otherwise I’d have to pay for an office visit whereas the shot is completely free. It was the quickest (5 minutes) doctor visit ever!

Afterward we had some time to kill so we headed over to Willowbrook Wildlife Center to look at the animals. I swear every time we go there they have a new pair of rats. What I’d love to know is what happens to the previous ones. Are they adopted out? Do they die? I’m half tempted to call them and ask. In any case, this girl (well, she wasn’t super young but not old either so I’d say somewhere between 28 and 38) was telling me about her pet rats. I mentioned I had some too but instead of engaging in actual dialog she just kept talking at me so I quickly made an exit. It’s astounding how self-involved people can be. Here I thought I was about to meet someone cool and like-minded but just like pretty much everyone else they were more concerned with talking than having an actual conversation. That was a bummer. What wasn’t was that we saw both flying squirrels which is unusual since they are nocturnal and hide in their nesting box during the day. I could have stood there for an hour just watching them jump around and eat but we had an event to check out.

The College of DuPage is across the street from the nature center and Joe had learned they were hosting a food truck festival. They even had discount vouchers ($15 for $10) but I waited too long to go online and try to purchase one so they were sold out. Despite that snafu, I was impressed with the number of trucks there.

What I wasn’t impressed with was the lack of signage directing people to the festival. It was back in a hidden area of the campus and the only thing that even remotely caught one’s eye was an arch of balloons over the pathway leading to the event. There weren’t any signs about the festival until you were well on the path towards it. WTF? Why wouldn’t they put that in the parking lot or one of the main streets that go past the campus? Did they not want too large of a crowd? It just boggles my mind.

Regardless, we found it, and our first stop was Happy Lobster where we each got a junior happy lobster roll ($20 total). It was pretty decent, although I think the roll itself was what saved it from being flavorless. The lobster roll we enjoyed in Boston in 2012 still reigns supreme. After that we shared a beef empanada ($2.50) from Grumpy Gaucho’s food truck which was just meh. By that point we wanted something sweet but much to my disappointment the Beavers Coffee & Donuts truck wasn’t open yet even though it was already 12:30 and the festival started at noon. You’d think they’d be a little more punctual for an event particularly if they want to sell coffee. Luckily our patience paid off and I was the first one in line when they did open. I got a small box of 9 mini donuts ($4) and asked them to put their free sugar toppings on them so that we had three powdered, three cinnamon, and three chocolate. They have all sorts of crazy toppings you can purchase for $1 each but I must say the free ones were plenty good on their own and the donuts just melted in your mouth since they were still warm. Definitely the highlight of the event.

Sunday after a large breakfast we headed to the CS Barks Festival in Carol Stream where we watched the frisbee and agility dogs. Lots of people brought their own dogs so that was fun. I didn’t bring my camera because I wasn’t in the mood to try and get photos and I’m glad I didn’t since the frisbee dogs weren’t so hot this year.

Sunday evening we enjoyed a second viewing of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. That movie is hilarious! We rented it from Redbox on Tuesday evening when it was released but wanted to see it again. This time we got it from the library and were able to access all the bonus content too including deleted and bonus scenes, a gag reel, and some of The Lonely Island’s music videos. I’m pretty sure I’ll be buying a copy of the movie at some point because it’s just that funny. I love Andy Samberg! I wish he’d do more movies.

Boob Smash Day

Posted on

Friday I had an appointment for a routine mammogram which our insurance will cover 100%. I’ve had two previously but always at the hospital, however with the new insurance I had to go to a radiology place instead. I actually preferred this new place because you just partially undressed in the exam room and then they did the scans and you could leave. At the hospital you had to undress, put your belongs in a locker, sit in a room full of other women with gowns on, and then wait your turn. It ended up being a two hour process whereas at this place it was a half hour.

We also discovered a locally famous bakery (called Jarosch Bakery) was next door to this place so after my scan we went to take a look and ended up buying a cupcake, a loaf of cinnamon bread, and a Bears sugar cookie. The prices are rather high and I wasn’t terribly impressed with anything. I prefer Pepperidge Farm’s cinnamon bread, actually. I remember hearing they have really delicious cakes, though, and that’s when I remembered that people would bring them in at my old job for special events. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where our bridal cake came from.

After the bakery we went to our favorite Thai place, Happy Elephant, where we shared an order of potstickers and happy wraps.

Dentist, Biking, and Early Father’s Day

Posted on

Friday the certified Whirlpool repair service came by to replace the cracked piece on our dishwasher. All is now right with the world (well, at least as far as that is concerned). Their service is quite nice to deal with – they call the night before to give a window, and the guy calls the next morning when he’s about 20 minutes away. Everyone is really nice. It’s refreshing dealing with a company that respects the customer’s time.

Later in the morning we both went to the dentist for a cleaning. With our new Marketplace dental insurance we had to pay $15 each for the cleaning and x-rays which I guess isn’t terrible. I wasn’t even yelled at for not flossing!

We did a little shopping after the dentist and then had a late lunch at Chipotle. They have the best guacamole!

Mallard Lake Forest Preserve

Saturday we got up early and took the bikes to Mallard Lake forest preserve for an early morning ride. We arrived around 7:30 and rode for approximately 45 minutes. We would have gone longer had the trails not started getting so crowded. I was surprised by how many people were out fishing too.

We ran to Aldi’s for a few things later in the afternoon and got iced teas from Dunkin Donuts. I got peach and Joe got the green tea. This is the second time I’ve gotten one of their iced teas and I must say I’m not that impressed. Starbucks’ is way better, although far pricier. The DD teas are only $1 from 2-6 pm.

We spent the evening at my parents’ house celebrating Father’s Day. We had pizza and played Aggravation before leaving around 11 am. On the way home we were listening to the radio and I was surprised to come across Q101 which was playing all EDM as part of their Electric Playground series which airs from 10pm-2am every Saturday. I ended up downloading the IHeartRadio app when we got home and listening to more of the broadcast since I had trouble falling asleep.