With Karen having her library meeting tonight, I took the kids (Briana and Bridget) out for some grocery shopping fun. Now, I suck at grocery shopping. And truthfully, I probably wouldn't normally write a post about grocery shopping.
Tonight, however, I had a fun time. And really, what's not to like when your two year old daughter pushes around a miniature shopping cart and places random things inside the cart while your nine month old is strapped to you in a carrier? By the way, many thanks to the young woman who found Briana's dropped glove and returned it to me. That had potential meltdown written all over it.
But really, what actually made me decide to write a post tonight was my experience at the checkout line at the first grocery store I went to tonight. I had purchased four boxes of chocolate chip cookie mix and two bags of Good Food Should Taste Good chips. The amount came to under $2. Both the cashier and the bagger were so amazed that I was able to get all of that for under $2.
In fact, the cashier joked and said "as far as I'm concerned, you just robbed the store". I thought it was a comical quote. Or as Nathan Fillion would say, "that would make a good tweet". I only mention Nathan Fillion because I just watched an interview where the self-proclaimed nerd was named Entertainment Weekly's 2012 Tweeter of the Year. And in the interview he said that whenever he is hanging out, he tweets things "that would make a good tweet". So there is hope to my friend's (Garv) cockamanie idea about podcasting.
Anyway, all in all, it was a fun daddy-daughters night tonight.
Showing posts with label grocery shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grocery shopping. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Saturday, June 19, 2010
I Suck At Grocery Shopping
As far as Friday nights go, I must say I did not do anything thrilling, which is a sure sign that I am getting old. Seemingly gone are the days where I would hang out with my friends at a restaurant or bar... or if I were inebriated enough... a club. Instead, my Friday night consisted of ordering takeout from Not Your Average Joe's and going grocery shopping. Who needs the booze and the loud music from a bar when I can just break on down aisle five of the supermarket to the music overhead?
Sadly, that was how my Friday night was spent. Being a parent of a three month old baby daughter (Briana) is cramping my style. Just kidding. Truth be told, I'm not sure when the last time I went out on a Friday night was. Prior to the birth of my daughter, I was in the doldrums over the passing of my son (Braden). Like I have mentioned to Karen a few times, the year 2009 was a complete blur to me, which is bad considering I have a terrible memory as it is. So it has been quite a while I think that I have partied it up on a Friday night.
Anyway, dinner at Not Your Average Joe's was delicious as usual. I should invest in that company because Karen and I go there a lot. Maybe the bread there is laced with crack cocaine. That's how they keep you coming back for more. Just kidding.
Following dinner, I figured I'd let Karen unwind a little for the night. This was Karen's first week back to work since being on maternity leave. I think she's been struggling a little with the transition. After all, it definitely can be hard to leave your child for hours upon hours during the day. I'm lucky enough that I get to work from home most days of the week.
So figuring that Karen would want some quality bonding time with Briana, I decided to go grocery shopping. It was also a way to kill two birds with one stone because Karen has also been stressed about preparing for the upcoming Father's Day weekend. She has this list of to-do's in her head... one of which was going grocery shopping. Thus, I figured that my going to grocery store on Friday night would at least cross off one of those items from her list and help alleviate her stress.
Needless to say, I suck at grocery shopping. I must have looked like I was new to grocery shopping because I could not find a couple of things. I had to ask one of the employees where to find the items... twice (different items). Rice cake snacks and Softsoap... not where I would expect to find them. All in all, it was a fun time... even though it took me quite a while (we had an atypically large grocery list this week).
Anyway, following my shopping excursion, Karen and Briana went to bed. So, I did what any normal person would do on a Friday night with nothing to do... watch a couple of movies. I wasn't particularly tired. Hence... the double feature of movies.
I ended up having a little action packed double feature. The first movie I watched was Bangkok Dangerous.
(The video below is a trailer for Bangkok Dangerous.)
I'll admit. I had very low expectations for the movie. Aside from the lame title of the movie, seeing Nicholas Cage with long jet black hair acting as a badass was laughable. For anyone curious, Bangkok Dangerous is a remake of the 1999 film of the same name... by the same directors. Apparently, the same people decided to remake the movie with the star power of Nicholas Cage (because Nicholas Cage's production company bought the rights to the movie).
Needless to say, the movie was not all that bad. It was surprisingly entertaining even if the story was the same old story about a hitman who uncharacteristically gets emotionally attached to someone. (In my opinion, The Professional still did it the best.) But it was not all that bad.
Following Bangkok Dangerous, I decided to follow it up with another action movie. That movie: Jurassic Park III.
(The video below is a trailer for Jurassic Park III.)
The film completes the Jurassic Park trilogy (although I do believe a IV is in the works). Always one for completing things, I had to watch part III. I had already watched the first two (the second of which was absolutely terrible), so I figured that I had to watch the third movie. (It is this peculiarity of mine that will also have me watching the rest of the Twilight movies...)
Anyway, Jurassic Park III was okay. It was definitely better than the second sequel, which was not too hard to do. As a whole, the movie felt rushed. The plot consists of two parents (played by Tea Leoni and William H. Macy) who essentially enlist the aid of Dr. Grant (played by Sam Neill from the first movie) to help find their missing son on the second island of dinosaurs. Like I said, the movie felt very rushed. I'd be curious to see what the fourth installment will be like.
Sadly, that was how my Friday night was spent. Being a parent of a three month old baby daughter (Briana) is cramping my style. Just kidding. Truth be told, I'm not sure when the last time I went out on a Friday night was. Prior to the birth of my daughter, I was in the doldrums over the passing of my son (Braden). Like I have mentioned to Karen a few times, the year 2009 was a complete blur to me, which is bad considering I have a terrible memory as it is. So it has been quite a while I think that I have partied it up on a Friday night.
Anyway, dinner at Not Your Average Joe's was delicious as usual. I should invest in that company because Karen and I go there a lot. Maybe the bread there is laced with crack cocaine. That's how they keep you coming back for more. Just kidding.
Following dinner, I figured I'd let Karen unwind a little for the night. This was Karen's first week back to work since being on maternity leave. I think she's been struggling a little with the transition. After all, it definitely can be hard to leave your child for hours upon hours during the day. I'm lucky enough that I get to work from home most days of the week.
So figuring that Karen would want some quality bonding time with Briana, I decided to go grocery shopping. It was also a way to kill two birds with one stone because Karen has also been stressed about preparing for the upcoming Father's Day weekend. She has this list of to-do's in her head... one of which was going grocery shopping. Thus, I figured that my going to grocery store on Friday night would at least cross off one of those items from her list and help alleviate her stress.
Needless to say, I suck at grocery shopping. I must have looked like I was new to grocery shopping because I could not find a couple of things. I had to ask one of the employees where to find the items... twice (different items). Rice cake snacks and Softsoap... not where I would expect to find them. All in all, it was a fun time... even though it took me quite a while (we had an atypically large grocery list this week).
Anyway, following my shopping excursion, Karen and Briana went to bed. So, I did what any normal person would do on a Friday night with nothing to do... watch a couple of movies. I wasn't particularly tired. Hence... the double feature of movies.
I ended up having a little action packed double feature. The first movie I watched was Bangkok Dangerous.
(The video below is a trailer for Bangkok Dangerous.)
I'll admit. I had very low expectations for the movie. Aside from the lame title of the movie, seeing Nicholas Cage with long jet black hair acting as a badass was laughable. For anyone curious, Bangkok Dangerous is a remake of the 1999 film of the same name... by the same directors. Apparently, the same people decided to remake the movie with the star power of Nicholas Cage (because Nicholas Cage's production company bought the rights to the movie).
Needless to say, the movie was not all that bad. It was surprisingly entertaining even if the story was the same old story about a hitman who uncharacteristically gets emotionally attached to someone. (In my opinion, The Professional still did it the best.) But it was not all that bad.
Following Bangkok Dangerous, I decided to follow it up with another action movie. That movie: Jurassic Park III.
(The video below is a trailer for Jurassic Park III.)
The film completes the Jurassic Park trilogy (although I do believe a IV is in the works). Always one for completing things, I had to watch part III. I had already watched the first two (the second of which was absolutely terrible), so I figured that I had to watch the third movie. (It is this peculiarity of mine that will also have me watching the rest of the Twilight movies...)
Anyway, Jurassic Park III was okay. It was definitely better than the second sequel, which was not too hard to do. As a whole, the movie felt rushed. The plot consists of two parents (played by Tea Leoni and William H. Macy) who essentially enlist the aid of Dr. Grant (played by Sam Neill from the first movie) to help find their missing son on the second island of dinosaurs. Like I said, the movie felt very rushed. I'd be curious to see what the fourth installment will be like.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
I Suck At Home Improvement
Today was my day to unwind.
After all, the past couple of days I have been a little stressed and concerned... more for Karen and our unborn child than for me. I just have to keep telling myself that we just have to make 12 more weeks. I will be a lot more relaxed come May 2 (the due date of our child). But the thought of losing our child much like how we lost our first son (Braden)... definitely not a good feeling.
So to unwind, I began my day like any normal person: I went running. It's a very sad state that I am in. I have not gone running (or even exercised) in quite a long time. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I did anything other than type away at the computer.
Sadly, I could not even run a full mile. I am guessing the five pounds that I have gained since Karen has been pregnant has not done me any favors. I practically keeled over when I was done and had enough. Needless to say, I will need to work more on my running. And by work more, I mean... actually run consistently.
Following my little saunter, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) came over. I had asked him for some advice about the bathroom on our first floor that I have been working on. Yes, I have been working on this bathroom for a very long time. I definitely suck at home improvement. It's no surprise.
I guess you can say I find home improvement much like a workout (like running). I don't mind doing it. It's the motivation to actually get myself to do it that is the problem. I can probably think of a bunch of excuses not to work on the house on any given day... much like I can think of a bunch of excuses not to run on any given day. I don't have anyone to blame except myself. I just simply need to do it.
Luckily for me, PJ happened to be that catalyst. With PJ's advice, the both of us started tearing up the subfloor of the first floor bathroom. For anyone curious, there was water damage to the subfloor. The water damage has been there for a while. I knew it had to be torn up and replaced. I just never wanted to do it (a.k.a. the motivation thing) because I knew it was going to be a pain.
Anyway, once PJ got me started in the right direction, I took off from there. Thanks PJ! Destroying things is a great way to relieve stress. It was actually pretty fun to remove part of the subfloor. For anyone wanting to relieve stress, I recommend destroying things. (Hulk smash!)
Needless to say, I spent much of the entire day working on the first floor bathroom. The only time I took a break was for dinner and a brief jaunt out for some grocery shopping. In case anyone is curious, Saturday nights around 8 is a great time to go food shopping. No one is shopping at that time... probably because everyone but me has a life.
When I got home after grocery shopping, Karen was still asleep. So I basically went back to the first floor bathroom and did some more work on the subfloor. And it probably should come as no surprise that the insulation under the subfloor is not the proper insulation. Truth be told, I probably would have replaced the insulation anyway in my effort to make a more greener house.
Speaking of a greener house, PJ gave Karen and I a great idea for one of our other rooms. For lack of a better word, we have a back mudroom. PJ suggested we convert it to a green house. I liked that idea. I'll have to remember to look into that... after the first floor bathroom renovation.
Anyway, I had a good day to unwind.
After all, the past couple of days I have been a little stressed and concerned... more for Karen and our unborn child than for me. I just have to keep telling myself that we just have to make 12 more weeks. I will be a lot more relaxed come May 2 (the due date of our child). But the thought of losing our child much like how we lost our first son (Braden)... definitely not a good feeling.
So to unwind, I began my day like any normal person: I went running. It's a very sad state that I am in. I have not gone running (or even exercised) in quite a long time. In fact, I don't even remember the last time I did anything other than type away at the computer.
Sadly, I could not even run a full mile. I am guessing the five pounds that I have gained since Karen has been pregnant has not done me any favors. I practically keeled over when I was done and had enough. Needless to say, I will need to work more on my running. And by work more, I mean... actually run consistently.
Following my little saunter, my favorite brother-in-law (PJ) came over. I had asked him for some advice about the bathroom on our first floor that I have been working on. Yes, I have been working on this bathroom for a very long time. I definitely suck at home improvement. It's no surprise.
I guess you can say I find home improvement much like a workout (like running). I don't mind doing it. It's the motivation to actually get myself to do it that is the problem. I can probably think of a bunch of excuses not to work on the house on any given day... much like I can think of a bunch of excuses not to run on any given day. I don't have anyone to blame except myself. I just simply need to do it.
Luckily for me, PJ happened to be that catalyst. With PJ's advice, the both of us started tearing up the subfloor of the first floor bathroom. For anyone curious, there was water damage to the subfloor. The water damage has been there for a while. I knew it had to be torn up and replaced. I just never wanted to do it (a.k.a. the motivation thing) because I knew it was going to be a pain.
Anyway, once PJ got me started in the right direction, I took off from there. Thanks PJ! Destroying things is a great way to relieve stress. It was actually pretty fun to remove part of the subfloor. For anyone wanting to relieve stress, I recommend destroying things. (Hulk smash!)
Needless to say, I spent much of the entire day working on the first floor bathroom. The only time I took a break was for dinner and a brief jaunt out for some grocery shopping. In case anyone is curious, Saturday nights around 8 is a great time to go food shopping. No one is shopping at that time... probably because everyone but me has a life.
When I got home after grocery shopping, Karen was still asleep. So I basically went back to the first floor bathroom and did some more work on the subfloor. And it probably should come as no surprise that the insulation under the subfloor is not the proper insulation. Truth be told, I probably would have replaced the insulation anyway in my effort to make a more greener house.
Speaking of a greener house, PJ gave Karen and I a great idea for one of our other rooms. For lack of a better word, we have a back mudroom. PJ suggested we convert it to a green house. I liked that idea. I'll have to remember to look into that... after the first floor bathroom renovation.
Anyway, I had a good day to unwind.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
I Suck At Grocery Shopping
this week, i told my friends (marc and kelley) that i would try my hand at cooking and make dinner for our weekly get-together on thursday. the dinner of choice: macaroni and cheese. like many culinary tasks, i have never made macaroni and cheese... ever. my culinary ineptitude may be one of the reasons why i challenge and make wagers with my friend (hot amy). to the victor goes the spoils... and as i generally win those wagers, i usually get to enjoy the bounty of the food wagered.
anyway, in my attempt to be a little more hands on in the kitchen, i figured i'd try making macaroni and cheese... from scratch and not from a box. marc and kelley lent me a cookbook specific to macaroni and cheese. as i was flipping through the cookbook, i looked at all of the possibilities... and there were a lot of variations. each and every one of the recipes looked delicious. i'm salivating just looking at the pictures.
after a long deliberation, i actually decided to start with the basics: a simple macaroni and cheese recipe that was not even in the cookbook. i actually found a simple recipe online. my train of thought: if i can make the basic version, i can then progress to the more scrumptious version later on. call it a "building block".
the only problem of course was that i needed the ingredients to cook the meal for tomorrow. there's nothing like a little procrastination. lucky for me, i am generally good under pressure. i have been known to write many papers for school the night before they were due.
so needless to say, i had to go grocery shopping tonight for some ingredients. too bad i suck at grocery shopping. on our way home tonight, karen and i went to star market in quincy. to our surprise, we ran into my friend's (joanna) father in the produce section.
joanna's father was looking for a squash. he cracks me up. (in fact, joanna's entire family cracks me up.) joanna's father was going to try to recreate an "everything" meal that he had earlier. the meal consisted of... everything.
as we chatted in the produce section, he told us that joanna's brother (john) was expecting to be a father this year. (joanna's father's eyes lit up with excitement on telling us the news.) and unfortunately due to the pregnancy, john would not be able to visit joanna this summer in seattle. joanna is graduating this summer with her masters degree from a college in seattle. she wanted to have everyone come visit her for her graduation (which i might consider because i have always wanted to go to seattle)... for anyone curious, joanna lives in portland... not seattle.
anyway, it was a good grocery shopping experience. in addition to having a good time with joanna's father, i did actually get all my ingredients for the macaroni and cheese recipe for tomorrow. so hopefully the macaroni and cheese recipe will turn out okay.
anyway, in my attempt to be a little more hands on in the kitchen, i figured i'd try making macaroni and cheese... from scratch and not from a box. marc and kelley lent me a cookbook specific to macaroni and cheese. as i was flipping through the cookbook, i looked at all of the possibilities... and there were a lot of variations. each and every one of the recipes looked delicious. i'm salivating just looking at the pictures.
after a long deliberation, i actually decided to start with the basics: a simple macaroni and cheese recipe that was not even in the cookbook. i actually found a simple recipe online. my train of thought: if i can make the basic version, i can then progress to the more scrumptious version later on. call it a "building block".
the only problem of course was that i needed the ingredients to cook the meal for tomorrow. there's nothing like a little procrastination. lucky for me, i am generally good under pressure. i have been known to write many papers for school the night before they were due.
so needless to say, i had to go grocery shopping tonight for some ingredients. too bad i suck at grocery shopping. on our way home tonight, karen and i went to star market in quincy. to our surprise, we ran into my friend's (joanna) father in the produce section.
joanna's father was looking for a squash. he cracks me up. (in fact, joanna's entire family cracks me up.) joanna's father was going to try to recreate an "everything" meal that he had earlier. the meal consisted of... everything.
as we chatted in the produce section, he told us that joanna's brother (john) was expecting to be a father this year. (joanna's father's eyes lit up with excitement on telling us the news.) and unfortunately due to the pregnancy, john would not be able to visit joanna this summer in seattle. joanna is graduating this summer with her masters degree from a college in seattle. she wanted to have everyone come visit her for her graduation (which i might consider because i have always wanted to go to seattle)... for anyone curious, joanna lives in portland... not seattle.
anyway, it was a good grocery shopping experience. in addition to having a good time with joanna's father, i did actually get all my ingredients for the macaroni and cheese recipe for tomorrow. so hopefully the macaroni and cheese recipe will turn out okay.
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