SAD SHOPPING

 They say never grocery shop when you are hungry.  I have learned it is very expensive to grocery shop when you are feeling sad.

When I feel sorry for myself I spend $153.00 on things like:

1. Pate (2 kinds)
2. A nicely shaped pot I can put mosaic tile on even though I have 3 at home waiting to be similarly  adorned.
3.  Four sweet indulgences which I hope will last 2 weeks until I shop again - they won't.
4. Shrimp - because no shrimp packing plants are under siege - yet.
5. Three kinds of cheese even though I already have 2 kinds in the frig.
6. A $2.00 avocado - which will never be worth what I spent. 
7. Three kinds of berries not on mark down. 
8. Green onions to replace the 2 slimy bags of green onions I removed from the frig.

I also bought some ground lamb and chicken - because meat packing plants. Four greeting cards which I need to swear off because they are ridiculously expensive. I have been saying that for about 2 years now, it is an addiction.

I couldn't buy any Lipton Tea and a few other things on my actual list.  There were many more empty shelves throughout the store than I have seen before.  My cupboards and refrigerator are full - no more shopping just for something to do. 

Except for plants at the nursery...

FRIDAY FAST ONES

 1.)  The last 3 watermelons I purchased have been pretty good - one of them was actually excellent.  Over the years I have developed a method for picking watermelons which serves me pretty well - until it doesn't and I am stuck with 10 pounds of yuck.  I was told by someone years ago to look for very dark lines and bubbles in any "stretch marks" or abrasions on the skin of the melon - it is supposed to be an indication of a higher sugar content.

My camera isn't good for close-ups - but you can kind of see the dark bubbles...

How do you pick your watermelon?

2.)  I have been searching out new recipes for my semi-veggie new dietary approach.  A couple of them require pumpkin.  Tried to buy pumpkin in the summer?  Even TJ's considers it seasonal!  I finally found some in a locally owned store and commended them for carrying it.  I also sent an e-mail to Raley's and Safeway to complain.  The checkers said they know people look for it all the time, yet the corporate guys seem to think they know better! 

3.)  Even though the California state budget has been in tatters for years the legislature allowed the additional 1% sales tax we have been paying (making the sales tax 9.75% where I live)  to lapse.  The old chestnut is that people will buy more if the sales tax is lower.  Ridiculous.  We are all accustomed to paying it and I don't know anyone who doesn't buy something because they don't want to pay an additional 1% (except for a car.)

I can't wait until we all wake up and realize that those little percentages equal road and bridge repairs, breakfast for hungry kids, medical care, police and fire departments, teachers, grants for low income college students, state parks and so much more.  What is worse is that polls showed residents of CA were fine with continuing the tax but the legislature let it go anyway...

4.)  So far the critters who ate all my tomatoes right off the vines the last couple of summers have not found the 2 pots of them I have planted up on my deck!  I might have home grown tomatoes to eat this year - if I didn't jinx myself by mentioning this.

5.) My "weekend" isn't until Monday - but you all enjoy the next couple of lovely summer days off!

MY TRIP TO COSTCO

Two pounds salmon,  10 pounds frozen chicken breasts,  4 pounds ground turkey, bag of romaine, bag of spinach, 24 eggs,  2 rotisserie chickens = $73.20

A tank of gas = $64.99

OMG.

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  NOW the Democratic caucus decides to, as the vernacular goes, GROW A PAIR???  They had two years, a forward looking President, the backing of the American public and they couldn't get off their thumbs long enough to keep the promises made to roll back tax breaks for the richest 10% of the country.  But now that the President has been shamed and bullied and has come up with a compromise which will allow the jobless benefits to be extended...NOW they stand up and say no tax cuts for the wealthy?  Really?

2.)  Got all dressed up Thursday and went down to the hotel for the employee holiday lunch...except they had postponed it until December 22.  The peril of working only 2 days a week is being left out of the loop...that and a wee small paycheck.

So - all dressed up an nowhere to go?  I went to the mall.  I usually avoid the mall in December but I headed for one store only with a mission in mind.  Me.  I splurged and bought myself some cute tops suitable for holiday festivities.

3.)  I have the house decorated and now I am working on my photos for the Holiday Home Tour hosted by Jen on the Edge.  Come visit next Friday to see homes all over the country all dressed up for the holidays!  If you are still looking for inspiration she has linked last year's tour.  If you want to join in, sign up by December 13.


I don't really get the angle - but the background tells the story!





4.)  Maggie had a wonderful time on her trip to France with her boyfriend and his parents.  She was not able to do all the things she would have liked since the trip was planned around fine dining and wine tasting - not that she didn't enjoy those things!  She is just ready to go back to see more sights and museums and do the shopping she didn't get to do.  I volunteered to be her travel companion!

5.)  Since Maggie took time off from her job - she will not be able to come home for the holidays this year.  I am actually feeling okay about it,  I am more worried that she won't have a nice holiday than I am about missing her. 

But Ally is having a hard time.  When I hung the stockings and Maggie's was not there she was very upset and wanted me to hang it - but she understood when I said I was filling it and mailing it to Maggie.  It has always been her favorite part of the gifts - the little goodies in the stocking.  So I wouldn't think of making her go without!  Now if I could figure out how to ship Monkey bread so it was hot and gooey on Christmas morning I would feel a lot better about things...



FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.) I have decided that I need to give up on buying the generics and store brands.  I keep ending up with products that are so inferior that I feel ripped off even though I saved a bit of money.  I think the days are long gone when the big companies just packaged their goods under store labels.

2.)  I think I have PTSD of sorts.  Except it is "Post Election Advertising Stress Disorder".  Every time a new ad comes on when I am watching TV I have a gut reaction to mute the sound.  I started doing that about 10 months ago when I got so tired of hearing Meg Whitman's voice...

3.)  Don't hate me but I am  about 85% done with my Christmas shopping.  A combination of keeping the lists short, using my final paycheck and having time to shop.

4.)  On one of the many sites I read occasionally I ran across this post by a woman in my age group who resorted to starting her own business because she needed income and found it difficult getting hired - sound familiar?  Then I saw what she is selling - even more familiar!  But I have looked very closely at Etsy and e-Bay and mosaics just don't sell well. I also had a booth at a local crafts store.   For some reason people like to look at them, admire them, but don't buy them.  So I wish her luck.

5.)  And what will I be doing this sunny and surprisingly warm and dry weekend?  finishing a couple of mosaics!  Perhaps I will post pictures on Monday.  Hope you are happily engrossed in pleasurable activities, too.

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  I think that it is interesting that an entire generation entered the work place with legal protections from sexual harassment on the job, primarily due to the groundbreaking efforts of Anita Hill to keep her harasser off the Supreme Court.  The Tea Party Activist wife of that man is stirring things up 19 years later looking for an apology.  Anita Hill didn't actually seek to go public with her accusations, her confidential statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee was leaked to the press which unleashed a storm of publicity, hearings and public debate.  Thomas used the race card and managed to squeak by and be affirmed to the Court, but the way that sexual discrimination was viewed from that time forward was different and we have all benefited from that.
 
Anita Hill has nothing to apologise for.  She is a hero in my book.

2.)  Have you tried to buy a pound of hamburger lately?  At least here in CA I am finding it difficult to buy just a simple pound of ground beef - the packages are always somewhere between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds.  So for a recipe which calls for a pound I either have to use more than it calls for or find something to do with this little bit of meat left.  I think I will go back to buying the frozen ground beef from Costco which comes

 in 1 pound "chubs."   I don't use it very often, but at least I will have the amount I want.

3.)  Did you hear about the next trend for Halloween "tricks"?  Scarrots!  Yes, Give a mini bag of mini carrots to the trick or treaters when they come to your door...

CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Having worked in customer service, I have a pretty good idea of how to make an effective customer complant. Lately I have been in a couple of situations where it is obvious that the main issue is the lack of available employees at large companies. That is an issue that isn't easily resolved by a well stated and directed complaint.

I have been looking for a new patio umbrella. My issue is that I need a smaller one than the 9 foot ones usually sold. I have been online and on the phone for days and finally thought I had found a solution in my price range at Ikea. It is a 40 minute drive, so i double checked that they had them in stock before I left. Ikea is a huge store. I wandered through the entire store looking for an employee who might tell me where the umbrellas might be (they don't have a designated outdoor/patio department). I never saw a single employee. HUGE STORE. I was there for an hour.

Fianlly in the warehouse section I found 3 employees all huddled around a computer station doing precisely nothing but standing there. I inquired about the umbrellas, they said they were sold out. I told them I checked that morning and was told they were in stock. They said the computer says they have them but they, in fact, don't have any.

So I asked about the fact that there were not any employees in the other departments of the store - had I just missed them? Nope. They were pretty much it except for the ones at the cash registers and the restaurants.

So what can we, as consumers, do when we feel that the companies we frequent are shortchanging us by not having enough employees available to serve us? Not to mention that the tools that are meant to save us from useless treks for unavailable merchandise are mismanaged?

Go to the Corporate website and write a complaint. Give specifics and be as businesslike as possible. Businesses tend to ignore the ranters. I know we did. Explain how the incident or business practice impacts you and why you plan to take your business elsewhere, assuming you do!

Go online and use Yelp and other social networking sites. I got a refund from a company that had refused to issue me a refund when I made a complaint on a site called Complaints.com.

So that is what I did and now I will just let it go - deep breath - and I have paid twice as much for an umbrella from another source and I will pick it up on Monday.

FONDUE ANYONE?

I did a Costco run today and very carefully arranged things in the back if the car so the frozen things would keep the cold things cold, etc. I stopped at Noah's for bagels to go with the massive package of smoked salmon.

Then, since I was right next to Safeway I thought I would run in for the special kind of Power Bars Tom likes which don't seem to be stocked anywhere else. I made the silly mistake of thinking the Express Lane with 2 people in it would be faster than getting behind large carts full of groceries - silly, silly me.

It was unclear what the issue was with the first guy in line, but the woman in front of me had 3 items and had to try 3 different charge cards to pay. Sad - but time consuming.

A full 15 minutes later I was putting the bagels in the back of the car and realized the big bag of chocolate chips had shifted off the frozen chicken pile and was now a big bag of melted chocolate.

ONE STEP AHEAD OF CHAOS

Part 2 of my series on menu planning, shopping and organization. I'll post every Monday until I run out of helpful ideas!

Now that the freezer is full, time to pull out the cookbooks and paper for lists. My mom had a small pantry which she carved out of a broom closet. On the door was a pad of paper and a pencil. If you took something out of the pantry, you had to put it on the list to be replaced. Death to you if she counted on a can of Cream of Mushroom soup and they were all gone and not on the list!! I think this is a great method. I keep a list in plain sight and if someone uses something up and doesn't put it on the list, then we may be out of it for a long time.

I plan at least 4 meals in advance. I go through the cook books, make a list of the meals and add needed items to the shopping list. Make sure sides are part of the planning. I post the meals on the frig on a post it, it helps reduce the "What's for dinner?" calls at work!

I also have 3 or so meals that I have as back-up. For instance, the Orange Chicken from Trader Joe's, I have one in the freezer to serve with rice and a veggie. I also make sure I have canned tomatoes and pasta. Tortillas and cheese can be used for many meals. I always have lots of chicken broth on hand.

I buy things like rice in bulk, both brown and white. I get things like rice and pasta sides when they are on sale and keep in the pantry to add to simple chicken breast meals. I buy the fresh tortellini and keep it in the freezer. Tortellini is great with sauce, but also in soup and added to a Caesar salad!

I usually need more fresh veggies and fruit mid-week, so I do an additional menu plan, and shop again.

More organization ideas next week!

ONE STEP AHEAD OF CHAOS

I was looking around and found a lovely woman called JCK over at Motherscribe. She has the kind of busy life I have had for a long time, though now that the twins are in college, I am down to one teen and spoiled husband in the house.

She is looking for ideas about menu planning, shopping, last minute meals, etc. Plus, they are starting to cluck from all the chicken - actually, so are we, so I won't be much help on that one. But I have a penchant for planning and I will enjoy passing on some things have work for me. Not all of them will work for your family, but maybe it will give you your own inspiration.

My first topic is:

SHOPPING THE BIG BULK STORES

I have a second refrigerator in the garage. My husband is a Diet Coke addict and it is always full, so I do not feel guilty about the extra energy use. It has been an essential for me. If you don't have one, you will have to pick and choose some of these tips.

I usually do this trip once a month or so. I go to Costco when it opens - before the samples are out and the crowds clog the aisles.

The frozen hamburger is already in meal sized portions of 5- 1 lb. "chubs". Pop in the freezer. I also buy ground turkey which is in 1 lb packages.

Buy flank steak. It is relatively inexpensive, lean beef. It usually comes in 2-3 per package. The flank steaks should be laid out flat and put in freezer baggies and frozen. They thaw faster flat and take up very little space. You can also open the baggie and pour in a marinade, put in the frig and it will marinate as it thaws. Flank steak BBQ's in about 10 minutes. If you use it for a recipe, it usually needs to be sliced thin, do that when it is not fully thawed, it's much easier. Same with butterflying it.

I buy stew meat in the winter. Divide the package into 1-1.5 lb. baggies for the freezer. If I have time, I trim and cut the meat before I freeze it so that it is really ready to go when it is thawed. I am new to the slow cooker - but I understand that you can put the meat in frozen for stew, etc. So that would be a big time saver. Freeze flat like the flank steak.

Costco used to have bags of boneless skinless chicken breasts that were not individually packages. No more, at least in my location. If you can get those - this is what I do. Let them mostly defrost, pour off as much water as possible. Pour in about 1/2 cup of inexpensive Italian salad dressing (not one with a lot of flavor) and marinate 6 plus hours.

If you can only get the individually packaged ones, I defrost, open each damned little package and the follow the marinading directions above, only using a large dish. Cook all the breasts on the grill , cool and then individually freeze them on a cookie sheet and then bag them up for the freezer. In nice weather, I cook them at dinner and serve them for that meal and freeze the rest.

If it is the dead of winter and your grill is unusable, use a stove top grill or bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. The cooked chicken is good for salads, casseroles, quesadillas, pasta dishes, panini, etc. an way less expensive that buying pre-cooked chicken.

I also buy eggs in the 24 pack. I hard boil 6 or so for lunches, salads and snacks.

The rest of the stuff is up to the individual family tastes. I don't have a ton of pantry space and rarely buy canned goods or super sized boxes of cereal.

Next Monday - Menu planning and grocery shopping.