8:30am – It’s a beautiful morning. My high schoolers have been dropped off to school, Iv’e made the elementary school lunches, and I find myself uncharacteristically thinking, “what’s for dinner.” I never ask what’s for dinner, especially before I’ve had breakfast. That’s something Jamie does, and it drives me crazy. This morning, along with having a sore throat and a headache, I was having the weird urge to prepare a hearty evening meal for my husband and children. All must have been signs of illness, I’m sure.
9:00am – I’ve decided on a Shepard’s pie, a meal that everyone enjoyed the last time I prepared it. I check the recipe, update my shopping list with the missing ingredients, and head out the door with my elementary kids.
Drop the kids off, grab the groceries, and get home by 9:30 / 9:45ish. My mission objectives were set.
9:07am – I arrive at our local Walmart. It’s not a superstore but it has some grocery items that are usually cheaper than the Zehrs next door, so I always try to get what I can here first. Grabbing my cart, I head directly to the toy section to check for Hot Wheels. Hot Wheels are not on my shopping list. Not the best start to my mission.
9:15am – I grab milk but can’t seem to find any tortillas. Searching for an employee to help me, I stumble into the jello and pudding aisle. A 4 pack of Jello or a 4 pack of pudding on sale for $1.49!!! That’s less than 50 cents a cup!!! Nice!!!!!! I grab 20.
9:25am – With my basket full of jello and pudding, I remember that I need sandals for my softball playing girlie. She had shin splints last season, so to prevent a reoccurrence we refitted her shoes and cleats with proper insoles, based on her coach’s recommendation. Finding a pair of house sandals with similar arch support would be phenomenal. Jackpot!!! Sandals on sale for only $3.00, and the perfect pair just waiting for me. Arch support ✅, Non slip ✅ , and I even found a pair of indoor sneakers for my 6 year old! Score!!!!
9:35am – Realizing that my shoe shopping has put me behind, I hustle to check out. Speeding by a Walmart worker, I was able to ask her for my tortillas, and then grab a pack quickly. I was self checked out and loading my car up within 5 minutes.
9:40am – Damn it, I forgot to get tomato paste and frozen peas and carrots from my list!! Running back in I was able to find the paste, but the peas and carrots were a no go. Anya, remember to get them from the next store!!
9:50am – Zehrs time! I’m already behind schedule but all that’s left on the list is potatoes… right 🤔. I will run in, get the spuds, and run out; no cart necessary.
9:55am – I find potatoes on sale at $3.50 for a 10 pound bag!!! Nice!!!! I grab 2 bags. A thought suddenly struck me… aren’t pizzas on sale here this week. Damn, I should have grabbed a cart. I had to go out past the checkout, out the exit, back to the entrance just to get a cart 🤦🏾♀️.
10:05am – I grab my bags of potatoes and start heading towards pizzas, but I am distracted by the bakery. Butter tarts 50% off!! Nice!!!!. I only grab one because of my gluten issues. Sucks!! Hotdog buns are also 50% off. Jamie and I are hosting a die-cast toy show and hotdogs are on the menu. We could freeze the buns until then. I put ALL the buns into my basket before realizing I should probably check with Jamie first. I try to call but there is no cell service in Zehrs. I have to completely leave the store to make the call.
10:10am – Hot dog buns are a no go. Jamie said, “I think that we should buy them fresh, closer to the date, but good looking out. By the way, could you check if there are salads on sale, and don’t forget to check for pizzas!”
10:20am – I load ALL the hotdog buns back onto the shelf and resume my pizza hunt. I needed help, again. I don’t go grocery shopping often so I have no clue where anything is. An employee pointed me in the right direction.
10:30am – Pizzas were on sale for $1.99 each!!! Nice!!!!. If you like thin crust pizzas these are a delight, with flavours like caramelized onion chicken bacon, and spinach cherry tomato. You can barely buy gum for $1.99 these days, let alone a whole pizza. Not only am I getting a great meal for $1.99, I am also buying freedom from having to cook on days that I am tired, or I am out and about. I can say, “pop a couple of those pizzas in for dinner,” and in 10 minutes they are fed. It’s magical. 30 boxes loaded up and I’m off to check out.
10:40am – I’m in the parking lot trying to fit all the pizzas into shopping bags, wondering if there is even space in our freezer when I realize, I forgot to check the salads 😩. Maybe I should just lie and say they didn’t have any, but I can’t bring myself to it. I finish packing the groceries into the car and head back to the store.
10:47am – I’ve got a sale salad. Damn it, I forgot the peas and carrots!! Can you guess where they were? They were on the other side of the store, 10 ft from where I grabbed the pizzas. So much wasted time!
10:55am – I’m done. Groceries are loaded, and I’m heading home. I got some good deals, but I somehow lost 2 hours in the process😫. This is why I leave grocery shopping to J.
11:00am – I’m home. Pizzas are packed away, pudding is in the fridge and I realize that I forgot to buy onions, which were on the list. I give up. Who needs onions anyway, when you have onion powder.
There is a really important lesson here, and that is STICK TO THE LIST! If you can’t do that, let your spouse do the grocery shopping.
And the next time I get a pre-breakfast urge to provide an evening meal for my family, I am popping two Tynenol and heading back to bed.
From Sandbabies to Snowbunnies. This is our Life. 