Reason #365 why adulting sucks...grocery shopping

Everyone loves grocery shopping, right? There is nothing like spending an hour or more playing shopping cart chicken with aisles crowded with the meandering, clueless, and self-absorbed. I mean, I really enjoy waiting on people who park their cart on one side of the aisle and then stand in the middle of the other half of the aisle while staring with glazed eyes at the choices for canned corn totally oblivious to the traffic jam of other shoppers that is piling up as we all wait for them to make a decision. I can totally understand their dilemma...so many corn choices. Or, I also love shopping behind the go-cart grandmas who will not hesitate to back up on a dime and mow right over your toes. And then give YOU the stink eye. It's great. There are also parents who let the kids push the carts (just stop) and people who do not understand the concept of personal space (Hi..maybe we should at least exchange names before you get all up in my business). Who doesn't love dealing with all of THAT, and then getting a cranky checkout person, and THEN getting home only to realize you forgot something.

Grocery shopping can be a beating.

Over the years, I have honed our shopping trips into a streamlined process to try and cut down the time in the store and to ensure we buy the things we need. It all starts with the menu. Jeremy and I do a large shopping trip every two weeks. So, I make a dinner menu for two weeks out. Here are a few things I like to keep in mind while putting the menu together.

1. What is happening in the next two weeks? We have been trying to get to the gym on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. So I know we will have less time for dinner on those evenings and try to plan for something that's a little quicker to throw together. And on every Friday I go to my Grandmas and Jeremy fends for himself for dinner. For your family, it might be weekly sports practice or Wednesday night bible studies.

2. Trade off who is responsible for cooking dinner. If you and your partner share the cooking responsibilities, be sure to mix up meals that you make vs. meals they make. It's always nice to have a "night off" from cooking dinner.

3. Do you have any meals leftover from the last two weeks? Sometimes things pop up and you end up eating out or ordering in. That night's dinner might still be waiting for you to make. You can always rollover that dinner idea over onto the next menu.

Once the dinner menu has been put together, I start making the shopping list.

1. First I go over what is needed to make each of the dinners on the menu. What do I need to make that meal vs. what I already have. During the big shopping trip, I'll only purchase vegetables needed for the menu items in the first week. We do make a small grocery run the following weekend, and I'll pick up whatever vegetables we need for the week after that. It's hard to keep your produce fresh for two whole weeks, so we do it this way to avoid waste and re-purchasing.

2. After the dinner menu has been covered, I list items we need for breakfast and lunch. Do we need cereal, oatmeal, lunch meat, bread?

3. Then we go over misc. food items. Do we need orange juice, coffee, creamer, snack foods, sour cream, ketchup, butter, etc.?

4. Next up is cleaning and storage items. Do we need dish soap, laundry soup, trash bags, paper towels, ziplock bags, air fresheners, all purpose cleaner, etc.?

5. From there we go over bathroom items. Do we need toilet paper, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, shampoo or conditioner? Do I need to buy more bobby pins or purchase a new blow dryer? Those items would be listed here.

6. Last, are misc. household items. Do we need pet food, greeting cards, kitchen gadgets, dish towels, candles, lightbulbs, air filters, etc?

Now, we only do our shopping at one store. I know people like to go to different stores because of better deals, or better selection. But we ain't got time for that. Since we shop at only one store, we know the layout very, very well. So, for the last step of getting my shopping list together, I use a legal sized envelope and I organize my shopping list based on how we make our way through the store. This helps avoid back tracking, no one wants to be zig zagging all over the dang store because you forgot this or that. This also helps us avoid picking up things we do not need. There are aisles we never even go down because there is nothing on our list down that aisle.

The envelope is also handy for holding any coupons I might need  to bring with me or coupons I pick up in the store. I do use coupons, but only to a certain extent. If what I'm already buying comes with a free item, I will only grab the free item if its something on my list or something I know we will use. I have limited space to store my groceries, so I can't bring home anything we don't want or use or need....even for free. Since we are only shopping for two people, if a coupon is only valid if we buy two (or three) of an item to get the discount, I won't buy more than we need or can store just to save a $1. It is OK to walk away from a coupon deal. Stick with your list as best you can.

During the next two weeks, in the morning while I'm getting my lunch together for the work day, I'll check the menu to see if I need to take something out of the freezer for dinner that night. If it's beef or pork, I usually take that out in the morning. If it's chicken, I'll wait to take that out when I get home from work (I get home by 3:30, so it gives me plenty of time before dinner to let it thaw...this might not work for you so you might have to take it out in the morning).  If something comes up that day....we are running later or just ran out of energy to be messing with cooking a protein, we will put the thawed item in the fridge to use the next day. Some people are very particular on how they handle their raw/thawed out protein. If the idea of having something out in a sink of water to thaw during the work day oogs you out, you might have to be a day ahead of your menu to allow things to thaw in the fridge. If the idea of putting something that has been out to thaw all day in the fridge to use later oogs you out, you could always cook that protein really quick (brown your beef or broil your chicken while you wait on the pizza delivery guy) and then store it in the fridge to be used in the next few days.

Shew! That's a lot of information. We have been doing our shopping this way for so long that it's more habit now. A lot of the stuff above I can do without having to really even think about it. And this exact thought process might not work for your family. But maybe it will be a good starting point to finding what does work for you and your family.

Five things that are bringing me joy

1. The Beach Vibes Spotify playlist - I started using Spotify in the evenings while I was cooking dinner. I stumbled across this playlist when I was searching for something that would help me relax after work, something that would make me dance in the kitchen, something that would make me smile. This playlist is all those things. Even Jeremy and my sister have started listening to it. It's the perfect thing to put on when you are sitting on your back porch having a few drinks on a Friday night. 

2. Hummingbird feeders - Not last summer, but the summer before that, I would sit on my back porch in the morning and watch a hummingbird or two come and visit our one feeder while I had my coffee. I was so sad when I didn't see any last summer. I think the feeder we were using was just not to their liking. We switched back to the basic plastic red feeder and added two more to the yard. We make simple sugar water to put in our feeders. And I'm so happy to say that the hummingbirds are back. I've seen them at the feeders at just about any time of day and they have even taken up hanging out under our patio on our twinkle lights. 

3. My cleaned out Facebook feed - Social media is an addictive time suck. I really hate how much time I spend on many of the social media platforms, but I can't seem to stop myself. I was tired of scrolling through Facebook seeing a bunch of stuff that I didn't care about. This isn't about UNFRIENDING people. This is about UNLIKING the pages of TV shows, movies, authors, big box stores, local stores, restaurants, direct sales reps, animals, political groups, etc. The list just goes on and on and on. Everyone and everything has a Facebook page nowadays and it was just getting to be too much for me. My Facebook feed is back to being more in-line with what I want to be seeing, friends and family, and a few misc. pages that I still actually care about. 

4. Fresh flowers - I'd like to say, up front, that I am not a florist. Some people have a way of arranging flowers so beautifully. For me, it's hit or miss. But I do not let it stop me from bringing home and enjoying fresh flowers. It doesn't have to be a super pricey, fancy bouquet. Usually, I mix and match two or three $3.98 bunches from the grocery store and sort of fuss with them until it looks decent in a vase. Or sometimes I'll just get a $10 bouquet. It's a small treat for myself to having something new and fresh and colorful in the house to enjoy.

5. Instagram - For all the accounts I've unliked/unfollowed on Facebook, I've liked two more on Instagram. Since Instagram is a photo based platform I'm a little more blasé about who I follow. I'd like to share with you a few accounts that make me happy, give me life, and make me laugh. 

* @157ofgemma - Gemma is an artist that draws comics of her life with her husband, two chihuahuas, and MOCHI the pug. Mochi is, of course, the star of the show. Her stories (with drawn in talking/thought bubbles) are super cute.

* @deannacat3 - Deanna and her husband live in CA with their two cats and a handful of chickens. Their take on growing plants, flowers, and food on their own urban property is very inspirational. And she is kind enough to share all her knowledge with her followers. She does great tutorial stories that she saves in her highlights. 

* @kellie_and_pete - Pete is an illustrator that has been drawing comics of his life with his wife and daughter for the last six years. This is a newer account that I just started following. I love the total honesty and relatability of his drawings. Most are funny, some are poignant, all of them are real.

Bread and Blessings

"It is pleasant: one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with peace, and the house filled with one of the world's sweetest smells. But it takes a lot of time. If you can find that, the rest is easy. And if you cannot rightly find it, make it, for probably there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel, that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread.”
― M.F.K. Fisher, How to Cook a Wolf

Happy Lammas everyone!! Lammas is considered the first of three harvest Sabbats. If you live in a place that is anything like West Texas, the summer heat can be unrelenting. After a gazillion consecutive days of 100+ temps and drought like conditions, the very idea of autumn can seem like fake news.

This is why I enjoy celebrating the seasonal Sabbats. Lammas reminds us that summer will eventually come to an end. It seemed entirely appropriate that when Jeremy and I stepped out of the house this morning there was the slightest hint of coolness in the air. Although Jeremy was very quick to point out that it wouldn't last (which it didn't, of course), it's natures way of signaling that the seasonal calendar marches on. It's good to periodically remember that in a world full of chaos and uncertainties, the spinning of the earth and changing of the seasons can always be relied upon.

Back in the day, this time of year denoted the first harvest, as farmers prepared to reap their wheat and corn fields. Lammas is essentially the celebration of bread. And I am here for all of that! Who doesn't want to celebrate bread? Now is the time to dig out your Grandma's homemade bread recipe and get your hands in some fresh dough. If you do not have a bread recipe from your Grandma, I have you covered. See below for my Grandma's recipe that I use to make homemade bread.

If baking is really not your thing, you can always check out your local farmers market to pick up a freshly made loaf (along with some locally made jelly or jam...yum). Or if you have sworn off bread (I am so sorry), this is the time of year to acknowledge the results from plans put in motion at the beginning of the year (i.e. New Years resolutions and the like).  Lammas is the gateway into fall and a wonderful time to take stock of the things that might still need some work but to also give thanks for all the many blessings in your life. 

Grandma's White Bread Recipe

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

1 package yeast

5 1/2 cups flour (about)

Preheat over to 400.

Scald milk; stir in sugar, salt, and butter. Cool to lukewarm. Measure warm water into large bowl, sprinkle in yeast and stir until dissolved. Add in milk mixture and 3 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Add additional flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Form into smooth ball. Place in greased bowl (I use olive oil), turning to grease top. Cover and let rise, free from draft until doubled in size, about one hour. Punch down and let rest for 15 minutes. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf and place in greased loaf pans (I use regular ol' PAM), cover and let rise for another hour. Bake in hot oven for 30 minutes.