Reflections....

As I sit around in my bathrobe at 4:52 in the p.m. with no idea as to what's for dinner, I'm moved to write something on my blog. What will I be discussing? I'm not totally sure. Let's see where this leads.....

You may ask, why are you in your bathrobe at 4:52 in the p.m.? Well, we went to the pool, and this is all I've managed to put on after taking off my wet bathing suit. Which I almost left on because it was making me insufferably cold, and that kind of a feeling is rare in these dog days of summer. Wait, are the dog days in August? Well, it doesn't really matter since I have to go back to work on August 4th, which means that August no longer qualifies as a summer month, now does it? Now if we could just make it not be hotter than the hinges of hell throughout August so I could bear actually putting on work clothes rather than my standard home uniform of a faded tie dye v-neck and maternity sweat pants. Yes, they're too big on me. I just roll them up at the waist. A friend came by the other morning to pick something up and spied me in my uniform. I think I got a few up and down glances.....

So now, as I enjoy the success of getting my child to eat peanut butter crackers, bananas, and apples for a snack instead of cotton candy and coca-cola, I am sitting here locating the next chin hair I need to pluck and reflecting on the issues of the day. Let's see if I can make this one of those "all over the place" posts.
Let's start with a picture of Nealy, because that makes everyone happy....
Next, I am so in love with the new grocery stores in this town that it's kind of out of control. I'm getting so much better about taking my mismatched collection of reusable shopping bags into the store that I'm almost smug about it. Like vegans and Prius drivers. While we were gone at camp, the Earth Fare and the Publix finally opened. This is huge news in Auburn. Earth Fare is an organic supermarket where diet drinks are not in their philosophy, but deli workers who indulge in an herbal break prior to work apparently is okay. If you know what I mean. Either way, red eyed or not, they manage to get a fabulous job done and everything there is made of magic. And money because I totally can't afford to shop there all the time. I'm trying to get good about using their coupons and sale specials.
I also have to offer praise to Publix. Our grocery shopping opportunities in this town had dwindled since the Bruno's closed, and we were all forced to go to Kroger all the time. There was a time when Kroger was the premier grocery store in this town. When it first opened, it gave the Quick Check on the opposite corner a serious run for its money. And if you don't know what Quick Check is, it's what my grandmother called Winn Dixie for the rest of her life. Quick Check is from the days of TG&Y and Orange Julius. You know, days gone by. Anyway, the Kroger may still be a favorite of Auburn old-timers, but the narrow aisles and the constant moving of items drives me absolutely crazy, as do the unfortunate encounters I have with people in the Kroger.

Short digression......there was a super methed up couple in bedroom slippers studying the candy shelf at the end of an aisle in Kroger not too long ago. They were blocking the flow of traffic to the registers. I waited for them to move. Waited until not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 more carts were also blocked behind me when I asked them to please move so we could get by. As I went by, the couple had a really loud conversation about the attitude on that little girl. Do you think they were talking about me? I'm sure that kind of thing will happen at Publix, but with the width of their aisles, I doubt it.

Plus, Publix will unload your groceries, bag them up without an attitude when you have reusable bags, attempt to make kind conversation with you while checking out, and then help you take your bags to your car. And they DON'T take tips! That's service, my friend. And I LOVE it.

Next item on the agenda, food...... I have been cooking A LOT lately. I've done steaks and meatloaf and pastas and fresh veggie sides and desserts and homemade ice cream and more. I'm starting to appreciate the therapy that cooking offers. I'm not even that bothered when the kids come in there and get underfoot. In fact, I really like it when Jacks wants to cook with me. He insists that we both wear our aprons, because chefs wear aprons. Joe gets in my way in the kitchen because he is so big and my kitchen is so small, but the kids are just small enough to not drive me nuts.

I might post some recipes up here a little bit later, but I don't manage to take fancy pictures of everything I cook. I need to get on that....

Have I told y'all that I've been working out 5 days a week? Well, don't get any ideas. I've lost a lot of weight over about 5 months, but not as much as I need to, so I don't look super great or anything. Just better. But I really hate working out. Like hate it. There is a reason I never played sports, other than the fact that I was really bad at all athletic endeavors and I don't really like games that require knowing the rules plus performing physical movements, I'm totally bad at it. I sweat profusely, I need water constantly, I want to stop everything as soon as it gets hard, and I stay sore all the time. But I'm doing it. Mostly because I paid the gym to go for this month. We'll see what happens next month. I have a zumba class I can go to twice a week, and my friend Summer will force me to do this couch to 5K program 3 days a week. Let's hope I don't throw up or poop my pants in front of anyone.

Other items to discuss today? Not much other than standard bitchin' and moanin' about raising a 3 year old boy who is super smart and amazingly precocious and not always my best friend, or the standard bragging about how cute and smart and precious and adorable my toddler daughter is and how she has a major temper and will give me a run for my money when she can actually verbalize her wants and needs. Which will be utterly contrary to what I want and need her to do.

yyghiewhtiowhtiowengisnrioewjrioew - ok, that was from Jacks. It seems my time to type has come to an end because Jacks is now asking to type all my words for me, which pretty much goes like, "Okay, Jacks, push the T." "Okay, Mommy, where is it? Ohhhh, right there." Then he pushes it until there are about 12 T's. Then I have to back space then go to the next letter. And so on.

So that means I gotta shut it down. Thanks for hanging with me for this random post. That is, if you actually did make it this far.