Friday, September 10, 2010

28 weeks down, 12 to go!

12! That's right. I said 12. Oh my word- I'm so not ready for this new little gal to join us. I mean, emotionally I am thrilled beyond belief to experience becoming a mom again but in so many other ways we are not ready.

I keep trying to convince Daniel that it's time to get the house ready again- clean, rearrange rooms, clean some more, organize.... He's got this idea that I'll be in the mood to do all of that after she comes. After? Is he crazy? I can't even imagine doing it now but I know that after she's here, when I have two babies, literally two kids under 15 months, there is no way I'm going to feel like moving furniture or organizing bins of clothes. No way.

So, all that to say, I'm starting, weather he is on board or not. I've got to feel a little ready for her, right?

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Our trip to Aldi

I just went on an adventure with Greta to our local Aldi. For those of you that don't know, Aldi is a discount grocery store. They have fresh produce, canned goods, an entire wall of refrigerated foods, and lots of other goodies. I go to Aldi when I need to get groceries for cheap and, I'm feeling brave. Our local Aldi is located right on Penn ave.

Now, let me preface this whole story by telling you that I love living in North Minneapolis. The times that I am afraid of my neighborhood are few and far between. We live on an excellent street with great neighbors who look out for each other. We are smart about when we go out and where we go. And to be honest, I'm truly more afraid of the wildlife (read: squirrels) in our neighborhood than I am any "bad guys".

All that to say- when I brave a trip to Aldi, alone with Greta, I am doing just that, braving a trip. This store creeps me out to no end. There are always people lurking by the carts. Which by the way, you have to deposit a quarter into just to use. But don't worry, you get it back at the end of the shopping trip. That is, if you're not harrased by one of the previously mentioned lurkers who would like your quarter!

So, G and I show up this morning, ready to do some damage. We walked right up to the cart carole, which I had planned ahead for by bring a quarter with me, and got our cart. Only- there was a quarter already in there! Some kind soul left a quarter in their cart for the next person to use. (In hindsight I wish I would have done the same thing but instead I took the quarter when it was my turn to leave!)

We walked in and were amazed, immediately, at the ammount of deals the store had to offer. Here's what we got:

almonds: 12 oz

english muffins: 2, 6 packs

kleenex (not the actual brand kleenex but facial tissues mind you): 3 boxes

peaches: 12

plums: 8

frozen pie shells:2

cantalope

lime

lemon

jalapeno peppers: 16 oz container

gum: 4 pack

sparkling cider: 2 bottles of our upcoming camp wine tasting

fruit snacks (no sugar added): 12 pack

raspberry fruit stips: 8 pack

sack of flour

jar of garlic: 8 oz

hersheys choc. bars: 12 oz bag

bananas: 8

brownie mix

can of beans

dark choc. cookies for Dan

cooking spray

Any guesses as to how much all of this cost me? Any?

Well, I walked out of there spending a whopping $37.36

That's right, less than $40 and I now have tons of fruit to freeze for Greta, fresh fruit for now, snacks for our trip, cooking essentials for our home and lots of other fun items!

And- I didn't get accosted. We left the store, with two lurkers eye-balling my cart- walked straight to our car, unloaded our groceries, put the cart back (took the quarter which I'll leave for next time) and got back into our car.

All in alll it was a great trip and we are happy campers!