February 2. Dad and Mom took me to Panera for lunch. I have the best parents, not because they take me to lunch, but because they raised me well, and they call, and talk, and have fun with me. I treasure our relationship!!
Then, a somewhat goofy selfie to text to Fernando, who was in some airport somewhere on a layover, waiting for his connecting flight to fly home to his sweetheart.
And then he came home!
February 4. His-and-hers Andy's frozen custard. Because it's amazing, and it was free, and Fernando was home. Who cares how cold it is outside? Not me.
February 5, Superbowl Sunday. The only photo I took was of this maple-bacon brie, in puff pastry. It was amazing. I'll have to post a recipe soon, of course...
Oh, I also took this photo during the football game, of Danny with a huge blanket wrapped up on top of his head. Goofy kid.
February 8. Thomas spent three entire weekends repairing my Arabelle (BMW), and I felt like taking a picture once I arrived at work today.
February 11. Free tickets to the Chicago Auto Show!! Again, I left my big-girl camera at home, determined to simply enjoy the day. I got to sit in cars I'll never own, and discuss with Fernando the pros and cons of other cars I'll also never own.
The Lego Batmobile! We probably own enough Legos to recreate this at home...
We entered the drawing to win this Slingshot. (We didn't win it.)
Our Saturday at the Auto Show ended with a drive to Navy Pier and a meal at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. Fernando and I, and Jake, Thomas, and Bryan (friend of the guys) all had a super fun day together.
February 12. So, something else broke--our washing machine. But, Fernando is amazing, figured out what was wrong, and provided a fix. The washer won't shut off now if we open the lid--lost that safety feature--but it works, so no major expense there.
February 14. Fernando was out of town for Valentine's Day, so my sister Lori and I spent the afternoon together, culminating in dessert at Le Chocolate in downtown Naperville. Oh, my goodness!
February 16. Thomas did some tweaking under the hood of my car.
February 17. Another tea time with sweet Sarah, at my home this time. I had Thomas run out to Cali Girl Cakes for some cupcakes and cookies, and Sarah showed up with sweets of her own! Needless to say, we were stuffed, eating all afternoon, sharing tea, and talking and laughing our heads off!
February 23. I tend to use my mobile for food pictures--and then I post them on Instagram or Facebook. I finally made salsa verde (salsa de tomatillo) for Taco Night. I need to make it more often; it's that awesome.
February 25. After an incredibly warm week--of which I worked every day, of course--the weather turned c-c-cold, so here's me bundled up for a date with my hubby, home from Korea! I ended up getting a tummy ache while we were out, so we just came home and lounged around. So much for a special day together...
February 26. The second Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Commendation Bar, a two-kilo chocolate bar. I don't know what the commendation is for, but the dark Belgian chocolate is amazing so we broke open this beauty and started enjoying it.
February 27. On the way home from work, it happened again. I was driving along Lake Tampier, enjoying the sunset and thinking had I had my camera with me I would've stopped and taken a few photos, when I glanced down at the dashboard and saw my temperature gauge pegged out in the red zone. I pulled over to the only place there is to pull over in any direction--a little parking lot across from the main lake. I popped open the hood, gave Fernando a call, called Charlie the Streaker (our towing guy, we love him!), watched three guys get in their cars/trucks and drive off without even checking on my well-being, and sat in the car and waited.
Charlie found us, even though this little parking lot isn't on the Garmin/TomTom map, and got us towed. Fernando and I drove back to my work in the Suburban, since I forgot a package I had there, and then we drove home.
Arabelle sits in my driveway today, under Thomas' care. Since he was laid off a while ago, he has been so helpful with my car. I'm glad he's working on it. The expansion tank for the radiator will be a simple fix, according to Thomas, so I'll be able to drive the car this week.
The other damage--brake issues, which we think was caused the first time the car was towed--was too expensive to get done via the dealership. So, Thomas will work on that and hopefully he'll get things figured out and fixed. But that's a post for March.
Back to life,
Christine
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