Brother J Visits

Posted on

Joe was in Denver for work from Tuesday until Saturday night. I took Thursday (11/08) off from work and drove to B’s house to pick up J to come stay with me for a few days. We hung out for a bit at the house before partying ways – B to a doctor’s appointment and us to get lunch at Denny’s. I normally hate that restaurant but the one in question is actually pretty good and the only location at which I’ll eat. In any case, I had the Cali Club which was really good. J got chicken fingers and a bowl of cream of potato soup. I let him have the fries that came with my sandwich since his meal didn’t come with any.

On the way home I misinterpreted the GPS and got off I-88 at what I thought was the exit to 355 but wasn’t. I didn’t want to pay an extra toll so we took the scenic way home. Even though I knew we were heading the correct direction I still felt lost because we ended up on roads I have never driven on. We finally came across familiar territory, however, and made our way back home. Since it was relatively warm (42) we decided to take Wookie to the dog park before it got dark (sunset is now around 4:30 and I hate it so much). She was in rare form – jumping through the agility hoop with minimal prompting, and just running around having a good time. She had the park to herself the entire time and was loving it. She loves playing with her Uncle J so much, it’s cute.

We had tacos for dinner Thursday and watched Incredibles 2. I wasn’t really getting into it until the Jack Jack scenes. I think without him the movie would have been weak.

Friday (11/09) we hooked up J’s Super Nintendo and played some old games including F-Zero which was one of my favorites back in the mid 90’s. We couldn’t play any of the games that required pressing the start button first… that is until I cleaned the dirty controllers and managed to get one start button working again. Interestingly enough, the battle scene wouldn’t render correctly on Bomberman 2 so we couldn’t play that.

That afternoon we went to Target and then to Red Robin in the mall for linner. Our waitress was the woman Joe and I always ask for but never seems to be there – Angela. Love her! Joe teases me that I have a crush on her. He’s not wrong lol. I tried the MadLove Burger – ½-lb. Black Angus patty, a Cheddar-and-Parmesan crisp, Provolone, Swiss, jalapeño relish, candied bacon, avocado, citrus-marinated tomatoes and red onions with shredded romaine on a toasted brioche bun. ($14.49). It was pretty good but not something I’d want too frequently. I also finally got around to buying a bottle of their seasoning salt ($3) like I’ve been wanting for awhile. I used egift certificates from my Discover card to pay which was awesome. Our cash back balance was over $200 so I spent $40 of that for $50. They recently changed it where instead of using $45 to get $50 you use $20 to get $25 which is a better deal so I just got two to cover our bill and have money left over.

After stuffing ourselves silly we went to Bath and Body Works to smell alllll the candles. Lol! I saw a few things I wouldn’t mind getting so I’m going to put together a Christmas list for Joe. J bought four movies from the bargain bin at FYE and we watched two of them that evening – Shoot Em Up and Salt. Both were actually good but for very different reasons. SEP was so ridiculous it was hilarious whereas Salt was more intriguing.

My brother slept in on Saturday (11/10) so we got a late start and didn’t do much except play video games, go to Dollar Tree, and watch YouTube videos. Joe came home from Denver that evening and we all had spaghetti for dinner. For whatever reason Aldi changed the formula of their pasta sauce which we used to love but no longer do, so we tried a Ragu sauce instead. Didn’t really like it so the hunt continues…

Sunday (11/11) we went to Half Price Books and Costco before dropping J back off at B’s house. Joe and I then went to a wake for our good friend’s mother who passed away earlier in the week. Afterwards we went to Target and Menards before heading home.

Today (11/12) we did some early morning shopping at Walmart where we bought a red tree collar to replace the tree skirt that Wookie chewed up when she was a puppy. Since she likes chewing on anything that looks like a blanket getting another tree skirt isn’t a good idea. I think this might end up looking even more polished anyway, plus it was cheaper ($17) than most tree skirts we saw. I’m actually looking forward to putting up the tree this year because we have the 7 ft thin one we bought for only $15 after Christmas last year that shouldn’t take up as much floor space.

We also went to an afternoon showing of Bohemian Rhapsody which was so good. Rami Malek nailed the Freddie Mercury portrayal! I never really considered myself a Queen fan but the more I hear of them the more respect and admiration I have for their creative vision.

New Glasses

Posted on

Welp, after MONTHS of frustration I finally officially purchased a pair of eye glasses that not only fit me properly, but actually look pretty nice on me to boot. Who knew I could find a stylish pair after going through so many duds?

The brand is Nifties Eyewear and the technical details are as follows:
NI1321-6521 – 47/17/140 Titanium

It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the front frame is actually purple with tortoiseshell arms.

A short overview of my ordeal:

Apr 05 – Got an eye exam at Visionworks.

May 20 – Picked up my new eyeglasses from Visionworks.

Jun 03 – Returned glasses for a full refund to Visionworks because they weren’t fitting properly (and they don’t make any effort to help fit them either)

Jun 26 – Picked up new glasses from Wheaton Eye Clinic for $503. Struggled to adjust because frames were much heavier than my old pair.

Jul 26 – After a few failed attempts to adjust the glasses, found a different pair and paid an additional $100 for ultra thin lenses.

Jul 31 – Realized this second pair was front heavy and due to the way the nose pads were constructed, couldn’t adjust the nose pads in a comfortable spot without causing the metal that holds them from squeezing the sides of my noise. Also felt like the left eye lens was distorted.

Sep 06 – Had an eye exam at Wheaton Eye Clinic ($135 OOP) to ensure prescription was accurate. It was not. Visionworks had over-corrected my left eye.

Sep 27 – Met with my optician to try a few frames she had gotten from a rep that aren’t even sold at their store. Took them home to wear with my contacts to ensure proper fit before ordering lenses for them.

Oct 18 – Finally found a pair that works and ordered lenses for them.

Oct 25 – Picked up my new glasses.

Throughout all this my rep, who actually shares the same first and last name as my cousin, was great. She never charged me for having to redo the lenses and the paperwork I received claims my total for the new frames and lenses should have been $690 when all I paid was $603 so that was cool too. I think she felt bad because she had sold me on the heavy frames in the very beginning and then we just had so much trouble from there.

I’ve never in my life had such a hard time finding frames. The problem is the trend is oversized which are way to big and heavy for me. My new pair are actually larger than my old one and the tops of my ears hurt a bit from time to time but they are the closest I’m going to get to perfect right now. I can’t believe this saga went on for five months! I hope this pair lasts me at least a few years so I don’t have to go through this again for awhile.

Sangria & Laser Queen

Posted on

Friday evening we decide to grab dinner from TacoMaya. A location opened nearby two months ago and it was already our THIRD visit because the food is THAT good. This trip I decided to try their sangria.

At first I didn’t think it was that great with all that orange flavor, but it was strong, and yes, yours truly got a bit tipsy from one glass. Call me a cheap date I guess. Our post-dinner trip to Target was all that more fun. We got a few things from the Halloween section since it was on clearance (50% off). I already put them away for next year but there’s a small orange ceramic bowl that says witch better have my candy inside and an all black skull.

Speaking of clearance, Saturday we went to Walmart and their Halloween stuff was also on clearance (75% off) so we got some orange crackling light bulbs and two projectors that will look really cool in the windows next year.

Saturday night we went to Cernan Earth and Space Center to see Laser Queen. I’ve never wanted to be high more in my life. The show was trippy enough straight but I can only imagine how cool it would be while on acid. Too bad those days are long behind me.

PLAYLIST
We Will Rock You
Bicycle Race
Another One Bites the Dust
Best Friend
Flash
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Somebody to Love
I Want it All
Stone Cold Crazy
Princes of the Universe
Killer Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody
We are the Champions

After the show we were treated to a short five-minute view of the night sky via their telescope which was pretty cool. I definitely want to go back for their full star shows. We get so much light pollution here you can’t see 75% of what’s up there. In places like Arizona you can literally view the Milky Way at night. How cool is that?

Halloween Houses & Craft Shows

Posted on

Saturday (10/20) we went to Willowbrook High School for their annual craft fair but left empty-handed unlike last year. I did see a few things I liked, including a little fleece jacket for Wookie that fastened with velcro (which she prefers over wearing something that goes over her head) but the only version in her size was cut a little crooked so I opted not to get it. I took the woman’s card and I might purchase a custom made jacket at some point since her prices were reasonable and she’s local.

Joe had to go to court twice that week (10/22 and 10/25) to get his old child support accounts officially terminated so they stop charging us $36 annually to maintain accounts that aren’t even being used. I really hate the state of Illinois and the hoops they make you jump through. He sat in the courtroom all morning and part of the afternoon that Monday just to get a stamped piece of paper that took less than five minutes to receive. Luckily on his return trip he only had to wait around an hour.

In between that was our wedding anniversary (10/23) so we visited the arboretum and had a nice dinner at Jameson’s Steakhouse.

This past Friday (10/26) we drove around Carol Stream to look at the houses decorated for Halloween.

On Saturday (10/27) after Joe donated some blood we stopped at Sonny Acres for apple cider donuts and a walking taco for yours truly. I swear their prices keep going up. A half dozen of donuts was $9 and my walking taco was $4. That will probably be our last visit since it’s not that much fun anymore as it always seems cold and there’s nothing to do if you don’t have kids. Doesn’t really matter anyway since the property is up for sale and likely won’t be around come this time next year anyway. That night we stopped at Just Kabobs for dinner and then went on the Gallery of Ghoulish Homes Tour in St. Charles. It wasn’t judging night (which was the previous weekend when the weather was super windy) and we started a bit early (before 6 pm) than usual so it wasn’t the same. We didn’t get out of the car and I didn’t bother taking any photos. Traditions are nice but sometimes they start to get stale, you know? Perhaps that’s a hint we should move…

Yesterday (10/28) we went to Oak Brook mall because I had an appointment with the Apple store to have my iPhone 6 battery replaced since they are only offering the discounted $29 replacements until the end of the year. They wouldn’t do it, however, since I had already had the battery replaced by Batteries+ last year. Something about liability and for the protection of their staff which I guess I understand but still sucks. I debated just upgrading my phone now but other than the improved camera, I’m not all that thrilled with the changes that have been made to the latest iPhones and I sure as hell don’t like the price points. I can’t stand Android, though, so eventually I will have to upgrade, but I’m hoping my current battery will hold out another year and I’ll get whatever the latest and greatest Apple has to offer in 2019. I want to have a good camera in my phone for when we return to Disney World in spring 2020.

Today I went to Savers and then met my friend for lunch at Pot Belly. I struck out at Savers even though I did find a sweater I liked. It was The Loft too, for only $6, but was made with wool and rabbit fur which was itchy and made me sneeze so I passed.

Birthday Party & Dog Park Visits

Posted on

Saturday I took Wookie for two half hour walks and to the dog park by myself since Joe was working. The idea was to tire her out so she wouldn’t be tempted to tear up any more carpet. Even so, we locked her in the kitchen just in case when we left for our friend’s party which was being hosted by his sister who lives in Joliet.

I laughed at Joe when he assumed the party would be held outside but the joke was on me when I saw their garage was set up with tables and chairs. Thank goodness I dressed warm anyway because I’m always cold. Other people didn’t seem quite as prepared and I think people should have been warned. By the end of the evening my toes were frozen, but we still had a nice time. The kids spent their time in the basement so I didn’t have to worry about that after all.

We were there about four hours and we stopped at a taco truck for a small snack with our friends before heading home. Joe went straight to bed since he had to be up early for work but I stayed up watching Netflix and hanging out with Wookie. Brother J has been harassing me about giving Big Mouth another shot so I watched a few episodes and now am hooked. I fell asleep on the couch. Sunday morning I picked up where I left off and basically watched the entire two seasons. I love Jason Mantzoukas – he has the funniest voice – and there’s so many other great actors voicing the characters.

Joe worked all day Sunday so I took Wookie for a long walk and then to the dog park my myself again. We were there an hour and a half when she started shaking from the cold so we took off. I enjoy taking her there because it’s my only socialization during the day.

I locked her in the kitchen last night but when I checked the cameras she was pacing back and forth and panting so I let her out into the living room and laid on the couch until she calmed down and went to sleep. I hate feeling anxious over whether she’s going to try and tear up more carpet by my desk. It’s not like her to be destructive anymore and I’ve been told she should see the vet to rule out any medical reason. She’s acting normal in every other way, though, so I’m going to wait and see if I catch her trying to do it again. If so, then I’ll make an appointment. In the meantime I might bring her crate back downstairs so when she’s in the kitchen she has a better spot to relax. I think she likes the bed by my desk because it’s tucked away underneath somewhat which makes her feel safe.