I am a grocery shopping addict

Hello, my name is Vinobaby, and I am a grocery shopping addict.

There. I've admitted it. My coupon clutch runneth over. My pantry overfloweth. I eagerly await each week's sale flyer, then peruse the goods, carefully circling my favorite buys. The glimpse of an unadvertised in-store special makes my heart race. I clutch my receipts like a trophy at the end of each trip, and give a only nonchalant smile when the cashier says, "Wow, you did great!" And my receipts are long and lean.

Which may be the problem. As a SAHM on a tight budget, trips to the grocery are not only allowable expenditures, but essential. It is the one place where I can leisurely stroll the isles, browsing the new merchandise, filling the cart to the brim with goodies I feel good about buying.

Now, I don't mean for it to sound as if I am on a leash (tight, studded, or whatever you may imagine). In our household, I actually control the money, bills, and all expenditures with an iron fist. But I know at least once a week, depending on how many stores I hit, I can swipe my debit card absolutely guilt free.

In fact, I am quite proud of my receipt totals. I was a coupon clipper and bargain hunter extraordinaire long before it became trendy. I saved my Mom's expired coupons as a little girl. In college, once I actually started buying food myself, I rediscovered the value of those little pieces of paper (hey, saving sixteen bucks back then was giving me a lot of beer money). Once I had my Kiddo and our income was cut in half, my monthly savings enabled me to stay at home with him.
Checking the totals at the end of each trip became a high. How much did I save compared to spend? I don't meal plan or create weekly menus or any of that crap. I buy what I know we like that is on sale. If our favorite brand of pasta sauce is on sale BOGO, I stock up and buy ten jars. Pasta is on sale too? I have a coupon, so each box will be almost free--I know I have eight boxes at home already, but how do you pass up 19 cent pasta? I know they will be used...eventually...
I never know what is for dinner each night until about 5 p.m. and I decide what I am in the mood for. I actually like to cook. Sometimes dinner is a culinary masterpiece straight out of Gourmet, sometimes it's dolled-up Hamburger Helper, but whatever I may want, the ingredients are most likely well stocked in my pantry and freezer.

I suppose this addiction may be at least partly genetic. As I was growing up, my Mom's overstocked pantry was something I would show my friends for shock value. They may be scrounging up anything in the fridge not covered in mold for dinner, but in our house there was a selection of every mix, can, or box readily available for a home cooked meal. Want cake for dessert? There were at least 6 different boxes of cake mix (and coordinating frosting, of course) to choose from. We would joke that if there was ever a hurricane or Armageddon, the party would be at our house.

My Mom is also the only person I am aware of that ever injured herself with this addiction. She opened her packed (yet amazingly organized) freezer one afternoon and a frozen quiche fell on her foot. When I came home I found her crying on the kitchen floor with an ice pack on her foot, waiting for my Dad to take her to the E.R. for an x-ray. Horrible daughter that I was, I just couldn't stop laughing, and later had a great time telling everyone how my Mom broke her foot. Alas, now I can wholeheartedly sympathize with her plight.

Ever girl needs a hobby, right? I just happened to make mine more productive than say scrapbooking or knitting. Every week is a new challenge, trying to make the bill go down and the quantity of bags go up. And we get to savor the end result. I'll take some Boursin and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken with a side of Truffle-Scented Mushroom Risotto any day over a crotchet toilet paper cozy.

Yesterday's total was a whopping $36.92 with a savings of $77.98. Not too shabby. The only problem was my cupboards were full to the brim and my freezers were overflowing. Ugh oh. But we have saved so much over the years that I get a bigger, brand new energy efficient freezer next month for my 10th Anniversary present. No diamonds for me--practical gifts thrill me.

Now off to the pantry. What shall I make for dinner tonight...?

First Published Piece of the Year!

The travel essay I submitted to the Orlando Sentinel was finally published! I believe I had to wait a few weeks for it to be in print because they happend to have another feature on Costa Rica the week I submitted mine. It's just an itty bitty article and they shortened it even more than I had hacked it down to (a mere 250 words)but still, I am so excited--can you tell?

Being There: Costa Rica,   Orlando Sentinel   3/7/2010



Now I say FIRST published piece this year...that means I have to get moving, get motivated, and get writing.

Time to read = tools to write?

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."
— Stephen King

Okay, Stephen, easy for you to say. If you still manage to kick out a 1,000 page best seller every other month while leisurely reading away your afternoons, you must have some type of time machine. Or work in two dimensions. Or have a ghost writer.

I am not so lucky. I have none of those things. But I do have an antsy 6-year-old telling me each morning, "I'm bored. I want to do something fun today..." My fun would be sitting at my desk all day, my fingers flying over the keyboard, cranking out another 2,500 words.

His idea of fun is Chuck E. Cheese, Aquatica, or inviting a half dozen kids over to terrorize my house. But it is summer break and he will only be little for a little while longer. It won't be too many summers from now when he will be running away from me, not wanting me to run with him. So I shall quietly enjoy my Mommy duty and do my best to quit my kvetching.

I have still been getting quite a satisfactory amount of writing done (thanks partly to the Hubby taking over kid duty when he can). Yesterday I cranked out another 2,500 words. Last week, 6,500. Kiddo was partially in school three days though. I think my summer goal will be 5,000 words per week. Let's see if the words keep coming...

But since I have started kicking out the pages, I have notice that I am having a very hard time reading for leisure. I am so focused on my own storyline I can't be completely sucked into someone else's. Two weeks into this month and I have read one easy novel. That is crazy for me.

I am spending too much time analyzing sentence structure or how exactly the scene was set up or the author's use of point of view. I want to be rereading my old AP English and college journalism textbooks to brush up on all of the grammar I have completely forgotten. But I need to keep reading.

Stephen King says so.

March

Momzillas--Jill Kargman
Split Image--Robert B. Parker
Lamb--Christopher Moore
Bahamarama--Bob Morris
Every Day in Tuscany : Seasons of an Italian Life--Frances Mayes
House Rules--Jodi Picoult

April
Deception--Johnathan Kellerman
Flirting with Forty--Jane Porter
The Girl Who Chased the Moon--Sarah Addison Allen
Just Breathe--Susan Wiggs
The 19th Wife--David Ebershof
Deliver Us From Evil--David Baldacci
Odd Mom Out--Jane Porter
The Blonde Theory--Kristin Harmel

May
Island Beneath the Sea--Isabel Allende
Innocent--Scott Turow
Dead in the Family--Charlaine Harris
Heart of the Matter --Emily Giffin
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything--Janelle Brown
The School of Essential Ingredients--Erica Bauermeister
Fever Dream--Preston and Child

Life is what happens when you are making other plans...

"Life is what happens while you are making other plans," the sage John Lennon once commented. I'm starting to think I have been a secret contestant on a reality show and there is a hidden camera following my every move, and somewhere out there, my trial and tribulations are providing some belly-aching laughs for someone...

I have had every intention of posting several times a week. I intended to be at least two chapters into my novel. Instead, no posts, two scenes. I have found that when I am utterly and completely angry and frustrated I just can't write. Perhaps I could fill some notebook pages with unreadable angry scribbles and I have filled many a tear-stained pages in years past, but now, as a "responsible adult," I don't seem to have that luxury. Chances are, if things are so bad I am kicking walls, I must then go about the cleaning, fixing, and calling, in a vain attempt to fix the problem.

Some things I have learned over the last few weeks:

1. 10 to 15 foot magnolia trees do not fit well into the back of a mid-sized sedan. You would think common sense would tell you that, but noooo, we had to try it. After standing it up, wrapping rope around the car as if we were trying to tie a deer to our hood, we were actually going to attempt to drive about 2 miles home. Then the car broke.

2. We were parked in the loading zone in front of the main entrance to Costco on a packed Saturday afternoon with a humongous tree hanging out of our car...which was dead. We tried to start the car. It just clicked and died. And the brake stayed locked. Not good when you have one of those funky new keyless ignitions and have to press the brake to start the car. After some frantic calls to the dealer to find out if we needed a tow or a battery we had to untie and unload the tree, buy a new battery inside, beg the manager to find some tools somewhere, return the tree, and get home to safety. All with a hungry, cranky 6 year old running around and constant comments from the shoppers coming and going. Always have jumper cables and tools in the trunk.

3. I deserve a maid because washing machines hate me. We are now on...new washing machine number three and have had two repairs as well, all for the same problem...in two months. It was just "fixed" again two days ago, and every time I go to start a load I am in a near panic state hoping the damn thing will start. Washing machines should not cause you to take panic attack pills or send you to marital counseling. Maytag owes me a case of wine, at least.

4. While we are on the topic of laundry, crayons do not do well in the dryer. I opened the dryer last night to find my clothes tye-died and splotched with bright blue. And the inside of the dryer was the shade of my pool. Frantic googling followed. I concocted various crayon stain removal recipes and caught quite a cleaning product fume buzz whilst scrubbing the inside of a hot dryer. All pockets will be checked for crayon nubs in the future.

5. Beauty schools may be a fabulous deal, but a three hour haircut...really? Four hours, when you count drive time. Yes, I got a hand massage, scalp massage, shampoo, blow-dry, and some entertainment watching the uber-trendy students practice their cutting edge stylings all for the bargain price of $12, but...wasn't counting on another day down the drain...

6. There are no simple projects. I just wanted to level the soil in my vegetable garden. Just... Instead the retaining wall crumbled, and we were once again loading way too much into a little car (12 foot long logs) to make repairs. Saturday we get to play with concrete in an attempt to reinforce the wall we rebuilt. All for some fresh tomatoes and herbs. It will be worth it in a few months, I know it will...

7. MRIs are not for the claustrophobic...unless happy pills are involved.

And now, my future calendar is full, but I WILL find some time to do what I want to do, I NEED to do...in between life getting in the way.

February Book List

Even amidst all the chaos of the last month I still managed to get some reading done. I only tried to re-read one novel, Carrie Adams' The Stepmother, and, of course I was two pages into it when I realized I would be stranded at the playground for an hour with nothing new to read.

The Help--Kathryn Stockett
The Swan Thieves--Elizabeth Kostova
Bad Mother--Ayelet Waldman
Brava Valentine--Adriana Trigiani
Dirty Girls On Top--Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
See Jane Write--Farrin Jacobs and Sarah Mlynowski
Baja Florida--Bob Morris
Altar of Eden--James Rollins (technically only 1/2 beause it was just too much like a bad sci-fi channel movie and I had to stop reading)
Testing Kate--Whiteny Gaskell

Now if only I could make myself write in proportion to my reading...