Grocery stores, a little history of shopping.

My little stint working at the deli taught me a lot about grocery stores, which got me to thinking, we spend a lot of time at grocery stores. Although I didnt enjoy working at the deli, read the posts to come, I think it was a good experience. I think the same thing for people who work at restaurants. You view your restaurant eating experience a lot different after you have worked at one.

I never really enjoyed grocery shopping until college. Before college, I dreaded it because I would have to walk up and down the aisles really bored, not allowed to buy the kind of cereal I wanted to get. Don't mention the times that I'd be sent to get something at the opposite end of the store, and then walk up and down the aisles looking for my Mom, ugh I hate feeling lost in stores!

I did like grocery shopping in college though. It was so nice my Junior/Senior year to go grocery shopping. I loved having the ability to plan out a delicious healthy meal, go buy the ingredients. I also loved buying whatever I wanted, going whatever pace I wanted, etc. And also, The Harris Teeter at Elon was brand new, and wonderful! Ah, I miss it! I remember being in the store and calling my Mom to ask her a question such as "Where do they keep the raisins" (seriously though, do you know?) or "How much fish should I buy to feed X number of people" I think some of those initial questions that I had were "rookie mistakes" and helped me be more independent. A little part of me also called and asked her those questions because either I was a little lonely, or wanted to make her feel like she was part of my life. Sometimes I regretted calling her because 1) she didn't give me a simple answer to my simple question 2) she would keep chatting and NOT HANG UP and 3) she wouldn't know the answer and kind of round about give me a long answer with lots of details what had nothing to do with the question I was actually asking....ugh.

Now that I'm back living at home, I'm back to hating grocery shopping again. (Sorry now for the "mom bitching" but I feel like this is therapeutic to get it off my chest)

I just don't understand why we don't have any food in our house. Our pantry and refridgerator are both full, but when I go to make something to eat, there is nothing! Its a phenomenon.

Some things that bug me know that I'm back at home/My OCD list for grocery shopping. (Makes me think, Hmm maybe this is another reason why I'm single, I hope my future significant other "gets" this.

Before you go grocery shopping:

• Check your inventory at home to see what you have, what you need
• Throw out old food
• Clean up the fridge if it needs to be done
• Clean up the kitchen if it needs to be done
  
• make a LIST (especially if you have planned out your meals/recipes for the week, you can check the ingredients lists and make sure you have what you need to get, and make sure you have enough "staple items" for the recipe: olive oil, spices, etc)
  

While grocery shopping:

• Stick to the list (it will save yourself time and money! I will allow myself 1 "splurge" item every once in a while, and I try to be reasonable about it, usually its something that is on sale, or a new product I want to try, or Real Simple Magazine)
• Go in one direction (usually helps when you categorize your list according to the grocery store, and helps prevent lost children like me when I was younger!)

Once you get home:

• bring everything in first
• take everything out of the bags
• put away items NEATLY and where they should go
• Do prep work for the recipes you plan to make in the week (this is called "lumping" or something similar. I read it somewhere that if you lump together your chores that it helps you get them done faster, and you dont feel as stressed/bored with the mundane chores. I like to prep right after I bring things home from the grocery store. Also, it help me actually eat what I ate. Example: if i bring home grapes, before I even put them in the fridge, I wash them and pull them off the vine, then put them in baggies or Tupperware and store them in the fridge. This way, I have a healthy snack/dessert ready to eat!

Other thoughts

• buy things when on sale, use coupons
• Go shopping/do prep work on sunday or monday (I'm not sure if this is when the rest of the world shops, but I like it because its a refreshing start to the new week)

The Secret

The Secret. MUST READ IT NOW! Or, rent the DVD (I actually found to be even better, or maybe the combination of reading the book or watching the DVD).

Anyways.....The Secret. This is my interpretation of it, but you'll have to read it to get your own. Its a book about "the secret of life" which is basically how to get what you want out of life. So how you get what you want out of life is by thinking it, believing it, expecting it. Once you do that, it will appear. Also, you must be a positive thinker. If you fixate on negative things, then you will get those negative things.

I'm simply summing it up to positive thinking, however it is a little more than that

I really can benefit from positive thinking.

Books I've Read

So this is just going to be a running list of books that I've read. I hope to put them in some kind of order, and possibly a little blurb about what I thought of the book.

When I was at University of Virginia in 2006 for a summer program (SMDEP) a speaker said that you should read more. Well yeah, everybody has heard that. Then, he proceeded to say, yeah its hard to squeeze in time to read, so set a goal for yourself to just read one book a month. Easy enough. But just think, one book a month, twelve books in one year. Think of all those ideas in those twelve books. Those ideas shape you and your beliefs and your knowledge. Obviously this speaker said it in a more eloquent way, but it really stuck with me, the thought that books have such a profound effect on you and your life/ frame of mind.

Another thing I read, I'm having source memory problems, but I want to say it was from freakonomics. However, it was that you should read/expose yourself to opposing views of what you believe. So for instance say you are really liberal. You shouldn't seek out liberal authors, or read only liberal magazines, instead you should seek to read the opposite. Very important so you can balance your exposure to different viewpoints, and critically think about what you are reading/what you believe.

So here goes the list:


June 2009:
The Alchemist. Paulo Coello.
This was a short read. Definitely good for a beach book. It reminded me of the book The Little Prince because it was such a neat simple story, yet it had some profound points to it.
I really learned from this book that you should "reach for the stars." It was an inspiring read.

The Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell.
I love Gladwell as an Author. I read Blink before this, and might have liked Blink a little better. I love the way that Gladwell writes. A criticism though is that it reminded me a lot of Blink, but I guess that could be a good thing. I like reading books with a psych background because that was my major, and it helps me keep up on all that I learned in school, and make me feel like I actually can use my degree, ha!

Freakonomics.
This was written a lot like Gladwell's books. I think that the book was good, but didnt exceed my expectations.


Previous to June 2009:

Eat, Pray, Love.
Secret Life of Bees
He's just not that into you.
Harry Potter Series.
Traveling Pants Series

Books from High School: (At least the ones I actually read & liked)
The Great Gatsby
Their Eyes were watching God
The Heart of Darkness
The Little Prince
Lord of the Flies
Shakespeare

• Romeo and Juliet
• A Midsummer Nights Dream
• Othello
• Macbeth
  

Scarlet Letter
Huckleberry Finn
To Kill a Mockingbird

Dental Jokes

What time was the Asian's Dentist appointment?
Tooth-Hurty!

Why do they call it a toothbrush and not a teeth brush?
Because it was invented in West Virginia!

What does the dentist of the year get?
A little plaque!

What does a dentist do on a roller coaster?
He braces himself!

What did the dentist see at the North Pole?
A molar bear!

Dental Cartoons

Procrastinating

Ugh, here I am again procrastinating!

I don't know what it is that is so alluring about procrastinating. Seriously, if I would just buckle down and get done what I needed to, then I could enjoy/relax later. But instead, I waste all this time doing nothing/not what I need to be doing, and I have this dark cloud looming over my head making me feel bad.

Its the same thing about when I dont wake up in the morning when my alarm goes off. It just feels so good to hit the snooze button.