First of all...
Showing posts with label aldi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aldi. Show all posts

Thursday, January 30, 2020

The End Is Near!

I enjoy that the phrase 'the end is near' can be positive or negative. For the purposes of today,
 it's a good thing.

The end of me driving through the gauntlet to go to radiation will be over a week from tomorrow. What is the gauntlet?  Its afternoon traffic on 95th Street where people don't use turn signals, think switching lanes in the middle of an intersection is cool, and too many people aren't paying attention when the light has changed and I am behind them.

Every day I see a few almost-accidents.  I thought I was done with my mini-rant, but before I leave the subject. Every single trip I have to stop for emergency vehicles, this isn't the rant yet, every day there are emergency vehicles going up and down 95th street--because there are two hospitals in a 2-mile stretch. And every day there are foolish drivers that turn in front of ambulances/police or fire trucks. I mean come on people! 

Okay, I'm done now, back to the good stuff. The end is near for January! It's been a long, long month. Yesterday I got my Valentine's Day leggings from Aldi and as you can see, I'm ready for February! Personally, I'm not a fan of February either, but I'm making an effort this year to appreciate the shortest month of the year. If you love February, please let me know your secret. Maybe it is copious amounts of chocolate?  I could give that a try... 

A couple of things about this picture. 1. #nofilter 2. #nomakeup and 3. my hair was still wet from a shower so you can't see the wavy curl of it. I supposed I could take another picture but #idontfeellikeit.

The end of our streak of cloudy days is near, hopefully, Sunday will be as advertised on my app: Sunny and 51 degrees. That is a Super Sunday! If it is that nice, I'm visualizing myself going on a nice long 7-mile run. #Goals! 




Thursday, January 23, 2020

Let's talk about January in Chicago.

First and foremost, it usually lasts eight weeks. I know the calendar says it's only 31 days, but it feels like at least 60 days. AT LEAST.

Granted this year we have had a mild January to date, not much snow, temperatures during the day more often above freezing than below.  However, it's still cold, most often cloudy, and makes your bones weary.

January is not a time to roam these crowded streets with bare ankles, this is for sure. And yet, I see many of my fellow people, wearing cute shoes and sporting naked ankles.  Apparently, no one had a Grandma to tell them, "Wear heavy wool socks in January!  Don't you know that 70% of your body heat escapes from your ankles!"

What? Your Grandma didn't say that about ankles?

I want to say to these slightly short pants-wearing people, "Aren't your ankles cold?  Are you wearing no-show socks?  Don't you find that once you start walking, those little no-show socks slide down off your heels and get lodged in the arch of your foot making you not only cold but also uncomfortable?

I tell you what, you will not see my ankles until April.  It's all boots or low rise gym shoes with fuzzy socks between now and then. In fact, I just picked up a couple of new Valentine's Day fuzzy socks at Walgreens yesterday (2 for $3!).

Fuzzy socks are one of the best inventions of this century.  As I make my way through radiation, I try to wear a different pair each day. Since I have a hospital gown on, my socks and shoes are the only unique fashion features that the Radiation Therapists and Nurses see, so it gives us something to discuss besides the weather.  As I established at the beginning of this post, January stinks and who wants to talk about that when we can discuss how cute my fuzzy socks are and where did I get them?



Next week the Aldi Aisle of Surprises is featuring Valentine's Day! There should be a treasure trove of new socks for me to check out and most importantly, I want to get my hands on a pair of Valentine's Day-themed fleece leggings. They are the softest, most comfortable leggings around and they are only $7.99!  While Supplies Last!

Happy Thursday!

I officially am over 1/2 of with radiation therapy!!!


Thursday, October 13, 2011

Officially Busiest Weekend of October!

This is Anna's pumpkin, the picture of it is here mostly just for ambiance.  It's also a before-shot.  Tonight we ran over to Wal-Mart to get crafty supplies to turn this nice pumpkin which only cost $2.49 into her much beloved fav book character "Oliva"  Glen Oaks school is having a pumpkin decorating contest for their students.  The rules only require that you can't carve the pumpkin and it has to represent a character from a book. Today I googled "Olivia Book Character Pumpkin" and found a school that had a similar contest.  You can check out all their great work when you click this link. 

Tomorrow I have a Ladies Afternoon Shopping Event over at Trio Bar & Grill . Trio has some nice appetizers and I like my fellow vendors so it's a nice afternoon once a month AND they have free Wi-Fi so I bring my trusty lappy.  In my opinion this is plenty to have going on  for a Friday night, but this is the crazy busy weekend--so we also have Cub Scout Pack Night.  Bryce loves to go. Me personally, I get overwhelmed with just my 3 kids, so pack night is a lot of boys.  Honestly, the Den Leaders are awesome, they do a great job just because they care.

Saturday I've got a home taste-testing with a great host and then I am hoping to be able to swing by and see my newest team member.  On the home front, The Man is looking to golf, natch.  But I think I've talked him into going on Sunday. 

Sunday I'm looking forward to St. Patricia's Oktoberfest Vendor Craft Fair  I'll be there at my table and my sister-in-law is coming for backup so I can work and the kids can enjoy the fair.  Psst, free games for the kids! Anytime the kids can go to an event and have fun without me having to spend a bunch is great.  I have found that over the last few years we've skipped many fun activities due to cost.  It doesn't seem like a bad deal to spend $18 for a day at a water park, but then when you times it by 3 or 5 for all of us to go there goes the budget. A family activity can easily cost $100 or more so we don't do much. 

Cost is typically why our 'date nights' are few and far between. When you add the cost of a sitter and the cost for dinner some place nice, ouch!  It's great that deal sites like Living Social, Groupon and Plum District have arrived. Another way I've found to make getting out more affordable is mystery shopping. What's that you say?  Secret Shop? 

Yes.  I go on assignment to various locations and I pose as an average shopper.  After the shop I submit and online reports.  In return, I get a bit of money for my time and if it is a restaurant shop, I get reimbursed for the meal.  Bonus part is that 9 times out of 10, the company wants you to go with a guest.  Guest= Date Night or a much needed night out to catch up with a friend. Being located in Chicagoland is a huge bonus as there are so many secret or mystery shopping opportunities to be had.  I've got a nice lunch planned with The Man coming up  I have to leave it at that, I have to keep my anonymity. 

Are you interested in secret/mystery shopping?  Comment if you have any questions!  I'm happy to share what I've found and the best place to start is Mystery Shop Providers of North America you can look here for shops in your area.  You sign up with the companies doing the shops individually and there isn't a fee to become a shopper.