Category: Food

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.

Taco Bell Chipotle Ranch Grilled Chicken Burrito

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We had to make a Taco Bell run yesterday because rumor has it the limited time Nacho Fries are leaving this week. They added more items to their value menu, so I decided to try the new Chipotle Ranch Grilled Chicken Burrito.

I’m not a fan of their chipotle sauce, however, so I asked they omit it, which they did. It was pretty filling for a $2 item! I just wish they would take their time putting these things together. The first three-fourths of the burrito was excellent, but the last quarter sucked because there wasn’t any avocado sauce and there was a big pile of wet, soggy, unripe tomato cubes. Blech!

Next time I’m going to order a side of the avocado ranch, open up the burrito, redistribute the ingredients, and add extra sauce. That’s assuming it’s still on the menu in a few months when the craving strikes again. Without the nacho fries I’m not that tempted to eat there.

Popcorn Enhancement

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Someone recently on the interwebs suggested mixing Sour Patch Kids and popcorn. We just so happened to have an unopened bag of SPK in the pantry, and we always have microwave popcorn on hand, so we gave it a try and wow, we were not expecting it to be as delicious as it was! Never would have expected fruit flavors to go with popcorn, but here we are.

We didn’t put the candy into the popcorn for fear it would make a sticky mess, so we just popped one in our mouth before taking some popcorn. 10/10 would do again.

Ugh, I’m 46

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Why does 46 feel so much older than 45?

In any case, we didn’t do much for my birthday because it was so cold outside! I believe it was around 12 degrees on my actual birthday (Friday, 01/07). Joe was at work but surprised me by coming home early with flowers and dark chocolate covered graham crackers from Starbucks.

I’ve been hinting for years I’d like some either in my Christmas stocking or my birthday and he remembered! The kicker is they don’t taste like they used to. Figures! I will eat them, because they are still ok, but I won’t be asking for them again.

We placed a curbside order for Red Robin that night so I could get my free birthday burger. Did you know you can request extra fries for free? Well, I did, and we ended up with waaaay too many fries. I have a whole container of them still in the fridge! They reheat pretty nicely in the air fryer, so I heat up a few here and there but I don’t think I will be doing that again. Not very healthy!

I opened my gifts which were the Sofi Tukker t-shirt I’ve been wanting and some Brooklyn Nine-Nine stickers Joe thought I would like (which I do).

I’m going to make some of the stickers into magnets for the fridge.

As for the t-shirt, I am pretty disappointed in the quality for the price. It’s 100% cotton so it’s not exactly soft. Reminds me of the old school concert tees from the 90’s. Nowadays the best shirts are a poly-cotton blend and are much more comfortable. Considering I recently got such a shirt with a custom print on it for $27 (which includes shipping), the $40 plus shipping SF charges is ridiculous. I wonder if there’s a way to contact them and suggest they change t-shirt providers. If a small YouTuber can do it, I’m sure they can.

Speaking of, here’s the $27 t-shirt in question:

It’s so comfy! I had to get it after becoming addicted to Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes last year. The YouTuber I watch created the shirt for her merch shop and I’m very happy with it.

I did layer a long-sleeved white shirt under the Sofi Tukker one so I could wear it, and that helped. The only other issue is how wide the sleeves are so they look a little silly with the long sleeves underneath. *sigh*

Saturday (01/08) we did a late lunch with a pickup from a local place called Anyway’s and shared their meatloaf and pot roast along with an order of their amazing Italian Beef eggrolls. We had plenty leftover for a second lunch the following day.

Saturday night we played Sorry! Sliders and Yahtzee with A Night At The Roxbury and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back playing in the background. I forgot how fun Sorry can be, even with just two players.

Sunday (01/09) we went out briefly to get groceries from Aldi and then stopped at Dunkin so I could try their new Brown Sugar Oat Iced Latte since I had a free birthday drink in my account.

It’s actually pretty good, but I’m perplexed why they added whipped cream on top. Not only is that not what the drink looks like in the app, but it doesn’t make sense to add a dairy product on a non-dairy drink (it’s made with oatmilk). I swear, no one at Dunkin knows how to make drinks properly anymore. The drink would have been nearly $7 without my coupon so at least there’s that. I scooped off the whipped cream when I got home but damn, they really aren’t doing anything to change my mind about boycotting them. $7 is a lot to pay for a drink that isn’t made correctly.