The Grocery List

I am so overly behind with about every single one of my home chores and just about all of my schoolwork this week.  My husband had been out of town with his other true love (The Marine Corps) and my daughter has been sick.  Things are all off--not that we have a "normal" around here but I just feel out of sorts.  Anyway, at the top of the list of things to do is go to the grocery store...we are out of everything and have been eating out every meal since Monday, I think.  (NOT good for the bank account or for health reasons but whatever...)

So, I am preparing to grocery shop.  I hate going to the grocery store.  It's right up there with putting gas in the car of things that I have to do on a regular basis, aren't that big of a deal, but that I just can't stand.  And so the list begins.  You know, the grocery list that you try to stick to but you always end up buying more and forgetting one or two of the most important things on the list...so you spend more money than you want and STILL have to go back.  [sigh]

I'm all about trying to save money.  I'm cheap, yet somehow we still never seem to have extra money.  I don't mind buying what we call "the bo-bo brand" (i.e. the store brand) of things, but there are some things that I buy where I MUST have the real-deal, expensive name brand.  Top among these are aluminum foil (it HAS to be Reynolds Wrap).  I just can't seem to deal with the bo-bo brands of aluminum foil--they rip too easily and aren't strong enough.  I also must have Silk soy milk--my daughter won't drink anything else.  I am starting to gravitate away from the bo-bo brand of paper towels, too.  Speaking of paper towels, I have another issue with grocery shopping...

I have a small fear of running out of 3 things:  paper towels, toilet paper, and light bulbs.  A light bulb just blew in our living room and I went out to our cold garage to the storage shelves where I keep a healthy stock of reserves of these items and HOLY CRAP, I'm running low!  We are down to our last roll of paper towels on reserve.  And, if you'll take a quick journey into that garage with me...

I am down to my last jumbo pack of TP...and it's OPEN!!!  Not only that, look...

The light bulb boxes are emptying out!  Oh, back to the grocery list--there are necessities that need to be on there!

I get it, I'm really not running that low.  I'm not sure where these irrational worries come from.  They are not major worries that consume my days, but when I recognize this ever-so-minor emergency is on my hands, I must take action.  These shelves must be filled again with their appropriate goods.

So, I'm wondering if anyone else has any of these random grocery shopping pet peeves?  Are there other must-have-name-brand goods where the bo-bo brands just won't do?  Am I the only one who feels the need to stockpile light bulbs, TP, and paper towels...or other random things?

Happy almost weekend!



She's all mine!

I can't believe my little girl--my baby--is getting ready to turn 4. In some ways the time has flown yet I can't remember what life was like without her. She's my whole world. But back to her birthday...I have been shopping for gifts for weeks. I have a bit of a problem over-shopping for her. My wardrobe is outdated and I don't get new "gadgets" and such. But my daughter is dressed to impress and has more "stuff" than we know what to do with. It's an addiction.

I remember her first holiday--Easter. I was so new to motherhood and lost in a cloud of exhaustion and love. But when I realized I got to shop for this little part of me, well, the rest is history. That was my first shopping spree for someone other than myself. It was amazing--and it continues to be. I'm a frugal (cheap) shopper so I don't go over the top in cost, just over the top in stuff. Shopping for her has been therapeutic for me during all of the deployments in addition to the fun and escape it provides during "normal times." I think this is a disorder. :) But it's fun! I am able to get lost in her world--which is much better than the world out here that we all live in.

Anyway, I still feel like I am living a dream. My amazing little girl is growing up--which means her clothes and toys get bigger (and cost more even when you do shop cheap). Sometimes I question whether or not I am spoiling her. I don't think so--I hope not. She's got the biggest heart of anyone I know. I like to think I played a big part in that. So I will keep on shoppin'. Why? Because I want to. Because it's fun. Because she's all mine...since she's a part of me, I figure I can continue to sport last years' threads as long as she keeps lookin' fine. :)