Category: Food

McDonalds

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I really need to stop looking at the McDonald’s app because the deals draw me in all the time. For awhile I was getting an iced coffee 1-2x weekly because they had a $1 special. Then one day it disappeared and was replaced by an offer for a free coffee when you spend $1 or more.

At first glance it sounds like more for your money, but nothing is only $1 at McDonald’s. They were running a 2/$2 sausage McMuffin special so I ended up getting that and splitting it with Joe. He got himself a $1 iced coffee because his app still had the deal. I didn’t want to continue doing that, however, because it’s not healthy.

We surmised they change offers based on user habits which I confirmed when speaking to friends who noticed the same thing between their account and their spouse’s. It took me a week to have a lightbulb moment – we can use the new deal in my app to get two iced coffees for $1 each instead of each using the app separately, so that’s what we did this past weekend.

When I was at the vet this morning I pulled up the app to see a special one day only deal I could not pass up because I have no self control.

The chicken McGriddle isn’t bad (I usually get the bacon one). A bit spicier than I would like, but I added some honey to it which made it better.

Incidentally, I was pleased to see the correct location come up in the app automatically this time around. I have a specific location in my favorites, but I noticed that it will automatically select the nearest location without you noticing until you see the prices are higher. There’s one location in particular that charges almost $1 more for most items so we never go there.

A few weeks ago I was literally across the street from my preferred location and it still selected the more expensive location further away. I was so annoyed that I went home and immediately filled out their survey online to complain. I feel like that location is paying them to push them in the app. In any case, either they fixed a bug, or I got lucky, but the correct location came up this time even though in the past it would still select the restaurant three times further away.

Family Dinner

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The kids came over Friday (just them) for dinner. They were a bit late (we agreed on 5:30, they texted earlier in the day to say they’d be over closer to 6, but arrived around 6:10 (turns out K had been at Indiana Beach with her SO and they caught traffic getting home)).

E brought us another copy of Aggravation.

I’m not terribly fond of this version. It’s sweet how he always buys them for us, though.

He also got me a Cure vinyl import called Pillbox Tales I had never even heard of!

I made spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread for dinner, which they loved (my meatballs came out fantastic even though I haven’t made them in years) and we played UNO all evening. They left around 11 pm.

Yesterday I realized you can make public portions of your collection in Libib (a free app/website I use to track all our music, DVDs, and video games) so I published my vinyl collection and shared the link with E. He in turn shared his whole collection from the same app, haha! I wonder if he got the idea to use it from an Instagram post I made a few years ago when I started using it. I’ll have to ask him next time I see him.

COVID Positive

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Not me, oh no, but Joe. It was going around like wildfire at his job the week before he got it.

Monday (7/18) evening he started sneezing and I was like “stay away from me, germy”. He teased me for being paranoid, but the following morning (Tuesday 7/19) around 11 am he texted me from work saying he suddenly didn’t feel well and was coming home. When he got home he took a home test and it was positive. He told his job who told him not to come back to work until the next week. Then he called his doctor who ended up prescribing him Paxlovid.

We set it up so he stayed isolated in his office upstairs with the door closed. Anytime he came out to use the bathroom or I brought him food we’d both wear N95 masks.

The week he was sick (with a slightly sore throat, mild cough, and fatigue) was strange as we had to do our own thing and I was in charge of all the cooking which seemed to take up a lot of time. When he’s at work I usually only have to worry about dinner and on the weekends he’ll often make breakfast and we’ll skip lunch and get take out around 3 pm for an early dinner. I didn’t want to watch any of our shows without him, so I got back into watching Dateline. I’ve been watching it in the afternoons during the week now.

On Sunday (7/24) he tested negative so he came out of hiding and was able to participate in the butterfly release. I had purchased a cup of caterpillars earlier in the month that had quickly formed into chrysalis and while Joe was in insolation they started emerging. I fed them sugar water and orange slices for a few days but released them on Sunday to ensure they had time to do their thing as their lifespan is about two weeks.

Anyway, I’m happy to report our efforts worked and I never ended up catching anything. I’ve still never had COVID (unless I had an asymptomatic case at some point) and I hope to keep it that way. I’m not worried about dying from it but the long-term damage it can do, even in mild cases, is concerning and not entirely understood.

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A funny thing happened the day Joe tested positive. An hour or two later the doorbell rang. I almost didn’t answer, but then I spotted the unmistakable Crumbl cookie pink box through the video doorbell camera, and got very excited as I knew it was my bestie who had sent them.

The message on the side of the box was funny:

I liked all the cookies except for the chocolate chip which I actively disliked. The two all-chocolate ones were my favorites. They may be on the pricey side, but I’d say they are worth it.

McDonald’s Iced Coffee

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As I wrote a few months ago, Dunkin iced coffees suck these days. I’m convinced they’ve changed the way they pump in the flavors so you’re getting less syrup than before. I recently discovered that McDonald’s has a french vanilla iced coffee and you can get a large for only $1 at any time through the deals section of their app.

I got one on Sunday and nursed it through this morning. Not only is it way less than a Dunkin drink, but I don’t have to wait until 2 pm to get it at a decent price. I won’t be ordering it often, but it’s a nice treat, and it tastes very much like the Dunkin iced coffees when they used to be good.

Flowers & Books

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It turns out our five days off together wasn’t completely devoid of fun.

Thursday (04/21) morning we went to Wilder Park Conservatory to look at the flowers in their spring flower show.

On the way back we stopped at a place called Fry the Coop to pick up an order of their chicken & waffles which were pretty good.

Saturday (04/23) we went to Northside Park in Wheaton to walk around. The entire day was so warm that we opened the windows and got some beautiful fresh air in the house. In fact, when we got home from grocery shopping on Sunday morning, the house smelled just like my grandparents house always did, mostly likely because they always kept their windows open too instead of using the A/C. I miss them so much.

Sunday (04/24) a friend posted on Facebook about a book she had just read – Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – and something prompted me to check it out. Libby had a digital copy available, and I immediately got sucked into the story and was unable to put it down all day. I literally spent 7 hours on the couch reading this book on my phone (I really need to get bifocals so I can read properly). By the time I went to bed Sunday night I was 80% through the book and finished it on Monday. It took me just under 9 hours total to read.

I looked up the author and he wrote The Martian. I never read the book, but I did see the movie starring Matt Damon. I hear they are making this latest book into a movie too, starring Ryan Gosling. It will be interesting to see how much the movie reflects how I pictured things. Although they’re already off to a poor start if Ryan is the lead because in my head he doesn’t fit at all.

Needless to say, I will be checking out this author’s other works since I enjoy his style of writing. I cannot tell you the last time I even got into a book. I tend to abandon them a few chapters in due to boredom.