I was practically raised in a food store. My mother was a long time employee of the A&P, or as a joke around my house, we always called it by it's historical name: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. It was our attempt to glorify her job in a era that covets white collar jobs. Yet spending time at the food store was a blast. One comment folks: free junk food and candy. I never complained once.
Just before I tied the knot, I have the opportunity to live by myself. (Everyone should experience that. I'll write about that another day.) The time before the wedding was, of course, consumed with wedding preparation, but my time alone meant I controlled the remote. I enjoyed cooking from early childhood so cooking shows were an immediate choice for me. During the course of a show I would watch and jot down notes and ideas. I didn't have DVR or a laptop at the time, so notes it was.
These notes would accompany me to the food store with detailed ingredient lists. I would relish the time spent buying special ingredients and experimenting with them in my kitchen. The joy of buying Tahitian vanilla beans and making creme brulee from scratch. Fantastic! My family benefits greatly from that time. Yet I set an expectation of my meals early on. No ham steaks and mac-and-cheese in my house. Though, thank goodness for kids, I get taco and sloppy joe nights. Kids love meals like that. I'm glad I can satisfy the kid in my husband too or I would probably hang myself with butcher twine.
We pretty much always eat a home cooked meal. Not only do we have to work full time, we have to somehow get that Betty Crocker meal on the table. Society expects a lot more from a family now a days. Not only do both parents have to work; we have to cook balanced meals as well. God forbid we have takeout once in a while. In all this stress one that I never complain about is that we always sit down together for our meals. That's one expectation I'm fine with. The good news for me is that I have won them over on leftovers. Leftovers make great lunches.
Going to the food store now is tough. Dragging unwilling family members, dealing with all those people, and shopping cart rage, have made my trips there awful. I know, there's so many of you out there saying, "Get your food delivered," or "order online." I have food snobs at my house. Goodness forbid my bananas are too ripe.
I call it dragging the unwilling family along because I literally feel like I'm dragging them. They don't want to go, but I don't have a choice. I start off at the beginning of the store putting things in the cart in a organized fashion so the food doesn't get smashed. By the last isle I'm chucking things in, just to get out. I live in a small town, so pretty much every time I go, I bump into someone I know. I'm a people person, so this doesn't bother me at all, yet it makes my family nuts. Remember, this is like pulling their arm hairs out one-by-one.
SHOPPING CART RAGE. PEOPLE - PUT YOUR CARTS AWAY! I cannot tell you the amount of times myself or my car have been hit by a shopping cart. One time I was wedged between the car and a runaway cart as a shopper was backing out of a spot. Ouch. Parking spots are a premium; especially those close ones. If everyone put the cart away there would be less driving around because of the cart congestion. The workers would spend less time gathering the carts and instead they could worrying about the clean up in isle five or helping someone find soba noodles. Don't give me that garbage about the rain. The only one who melted was the wicked witch of the west. (I know, I know, monsoons and hurricanes don't count. But, hello!!! They do! Why are you even out in that? You should be at home, not the food store. Make an emergency kit and be prepared. Don't know what to have? Check out the government's website: www.ready.gov/build-a-kit ) My biggest reason to gripe of all, is with all the talk about obesity in our country, do yourself a favor, burn a few extra calories, and put the cart away.
I truly miss the times in life when I could go to the supermarket and experience the joy of shopping. I miss the free candy of my youth. I miss the joy of taking my time. The stress and overwhelming need to get in and out of there like the game show Supermaket Sweep; coupons and all, gives me heartburn. Other days, it's the only free time I get. The food store: sometimes my blessing and sometimes my curse. Grrrr
Just before I tied the knot, I have the opportunity to live by myself. (Everyone should experience that. I'll write about that another day.) The time before the wedding was, of course, consumed with wedding preparation, but my time alone meant I controlled the remote. I enjoyed cooking from early childhood so cooking shows were an immediate choice for me. During the course of a show I would watch and jot down notes and ideas. I didn't have DVR or a laptop at the time, so notes it was.
These notes would accompany me to the food store with detailed ingredient lists. I would relish the time spent buying special ingredients and experimenting with them in my kitchen. The joy of buying Tahitian vanilla beans and making creme brulee from scratch. Fantastic! My family benefits greatly from that time. Yet I set an expectation of my meals early on. No ham steaks and mac-and-cheese in my house. Though, thank goodness for kids, I get taco and sloppy joe nights. Kids love meals like that. I'm glad I can satisfy the kid in my husband too or I would probably hang myself with butcher twine.
We pretty much always eat a home cooked meal. Not only do we have to work full time, we have to somehow get that Betty Crocker meal on the table. Society expects a lot more from a family now a days. Not only do both parents have to work; we have to cook balanced meals as well. God forbid we have takeout once in a while. In all this stress one that I never complain about is that we always sit down together for our meals. That's one expectation I'm fine with. The good news for me is that I have won them over on leftovers. Leftovers make great lunches.
Going to the food store now is tough. Dragging unwilling family members, dealing with all those people, and shopping cart rage, have made my trips there awful. I know, there's so many of you out there saying, "Get your food delivered," or "order online." I have food snobs at my house. Goodness forbid my bananas are too ripe.
I call it dragging the unwilling family along because I literally feel like I'm dragging them. They don't want to go, but I don't have a choice. I start off at the beginning of the store putting things in the cart in a organized fashion so the food doesn't get smashed. By the last isle I'm chucking things in, just to get out. I live in a small town, so pretty much every time I go, I bump into someone I know. I'm a people person, so this doesn't bother me at all, yet it makes my family nuts. Remember, this is like pulling their arm hairs out one-by-one.
SHOPPING CART RAGE. PEOPLE - PUT YOUR CARTS AWAY! I cannot tell you the amount of times myself or my car have been hit by a shopping cart. One time I was wedged between the car and a runaway cart as a shopper was backing out of a spot. Ouch. Parking spots are a premium; especially those close ones. If everyone put the cart away there would be less driving around because of the cart congestion. The workers would spend less time gathering the carts and instead they could worrying about the clean up in isle five or helping someone find soba noodles. Don't give me that garbage about the rain. The only one who melted was the wicked witch of the west. (I know, I know, monsoons and hurricanes don't count. But, hello!!! They do! Why are you even out in that? You should be at home, not the food store. Make an emergency kit and be prepared. Don't know what to have? Check out the government's website: www.ready.gov/build-a-kit ) My biggest reason to gripe of all, is with all the talk about obesity in our country, do yourself a favor, burn a few extra calories, and put the cart away.
I truly miss the times in life when I could go to the supermarket and experience the joy of shopping. I miss the free candy of my youth. I miss the joy of taking my time. The stress and overwhelming need to get in and out of there like the game show Supermaket Sweep; coupons and all, gives me heartburn. Other days, it's the only free time I get. The food store: sometimes my blessing and sometimes my curse. Grrrr
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