Mother's Day

As Facebook is flooded with photos and posts around Mother's Day this weekend, I need to say out loud that I have a love/not-so-much-love relationship with Mother's Day.   

I love my mother and greatly appreciate all that she has done and continues to do for me.

I love my grandmothers and am so thankful for the legacy they leave with me.

I love my sister and see and appreciate the way that she mothers my two spectacular nieces - even (or especially) on the hard days.

I love my aunts and cousins who are mothers and see and appreciate their relationship with their kids.

I have many, many friends that are mothers. They are smart and funny and kind and are raising their kids to be the same.

Then, things get fuzzy and painful.....

I think of my friends who lost their mothers too young.  Or even later in life.

I think of friends who have uneasy relationships with their mother. Or no relationship at all.

I think of my friends who have lost children.  As my great-grandmother Trietschie once said, "mothers aren't supposed to bury their kids."

I think of my friends who have never been able to have any babies at all.  Or not the second or third (or more) that they had planned. 

I think of my friends who, like me, desperately long to be a mother, but have yet to find their husband with which to start a family. (and please don't spend your effort trying to convince me how you can be a mom without a husband. I know it can happen - it is not on my radar).

And Mother's Day somehow becomes another somewhat ridiculous, fake holiday that often hurts more than it helps.....

New hairdo

For those of you who are not on Facebook......here's a pic of my new 'do.

After 20+ years with the same stylist (the last 11 years driving back to Abilene), I have finally switched over to getting my hair done locally - only because Estella decided last spring to move from Abilene to San Antonio!


My friend Jamie referred me to her salon, The Color Studio and Salon. Their website has a questionnaire that you fill out if you are a new client and they match you up with the stylist who they deem to be best suited for your hair needs.  I will say that I was skeptical, but Candace did seem to fit my hair-styling personality and I think she will respect my choices for easy day-to-day maintenance.....  We'll see if it is a long-lived hair relationship, but the first experience was successful.  She showed me a couple of easy ways to dress it up (hence the curls in the photo).....we'll see how the day to day feels.


All in all, I'd recommend the salon, if any of you out there are looking for a new stylist.

Aldi

So, I had my first shopping experience at Aldi today. I didn't really know what to expect, but had seen commericials about new stores opening up in North Texas and heard about their great deals. I went in with a decent list - everything needed to make my Aunt Neva's chicken pot pie, plus a few other items.

I've started doing some price comparisons (something my mom and sister have been doing for years) and had comps for Wal-Mart for at least some staple items. Aldi does beat the Wal-Mart price on most everything. The hard part is it is a small store and the selection very limited. Plus it is almost exclusively off-brand. Nothing wrong with that. Just different from the big grocery stores. And they only take cash or debit (non Visa/MC debit). Which since I don't use much cash, would make it necessary to plan ahead.

I found out the cash only thing as I was walking in the store. Good thing my mom taught me how to keep a running tab as I'm shopping to make sure I know what the finally tally will be. Not that I normally do that, but I can. So, I evaluated the amount of cash in my wallet and set out to see how much of my list I could get checked off.

Here was the damage:

1 lb fresh strawberries = 0.99
1 lb bag frozen peas = 0.95
1 lb bag frozen corn = 0.95
quart chicken stock = 1.29
gallon skim milk = 1.79
quart half & half = 1.99
green bell peppers (3) = 1.79
bag yellow onions = 2.69
garlic cloves (3) = 0.89
3 lb frozen boneless chicken breast = 5.49
2 lb carrots = 0.99
4 lb sugar = 1.79
5 lb flour = 1.19
5 lb potatoes = 1.49

Grand total = $24.28

Every.single.thing on my list. Plus, paying with cash made me stick to my list. I *KNOW* I would have spent more at Kroger, because I would have just tossed anything that looked good into my basket.

A couple of other interesting notes....you have to pay a deposit of a quarter to use a basket (they are locked together and you get the quarter back out when you return the basket and lock it back in) and you have to bag your own groceries. You have to bring your own bags or they do have reusable bags for sale or you can pay 0.10 cents each for plastic bags.

Don't know for sure how often I will do my grocery shopping at Aldi. It is on my way home from work, so I might just use it for the quick little runs, but I'm also giving up on the perks of my credit card by paying with cash up front at the store, rather than just paying off the credit card bill in full.

Oh, and before I made it to Aldi this morning? Found a vintage egg basket at an estate sale for $1.50 that I plan to use for those onions in my pantry (been looking for one for a while). Also picked up a Scrabble game for my house (50 cents) and Scrabble Junior for Emily ($1.00) at garage sale. Now each household in my family has a Scrabble game we can whip out anytime!

Another random meme.....65 questions this time

65 Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked.....

1. First thing you wash in the shower? body

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? don't wear hoodies

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? yep - Emily kisses are just right!

4. Do you plan outfits? sometimes

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? annoyed

6. What’s the closest thing to you that's red? message light on my telephone

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? I don't remember the last dream I remember....

8. Did you meet anybody new today? nope

9. What are you craving right now? garlic bread

10. Do you floss? not often enough

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? ick

12. Are you emotional? at times - I ususally hide it, though

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? not that I can remember

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? lick it

15. Do you like your hair? depends on the day

16. Do you like yourself? most of the time

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? probably

18. What are you listening to right now? iPod on shuffle, fan blowing

19. Are your parents strict? in the past - yes

20. Would you go sky diving? yep

21. Do you like cottage cheese? absolutely not

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? yes

23. Do you rent movies often? not anymore

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? my cut glass business card holder is as close at it gets

25. How many countries have you visited? actually spent time in? 6, I think

26. Have you made a prank phone call? yeah, before caller ID

27. Ever been on a train? yes

28. Brown or white eggs? doesn't matter

29. Do you have a cell-phone? of course

30. Do you use Chap Stick? yes

31. Do you own a gun? yes

32. Can you use chop sticks? not very well

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? me, myself and I

34. Are you too forgiving? probably not forgiving enough

35. Ever been in love? not with anyone other than family

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? probably enjoying the end of their summer break

37. Ever have cream puffs? I don't think so

38. Last time you cried? yesterday

39. What was the last question you asked? "Are you ready to work on _____?"

40. Favorite time of the year? winter/spring

41. Do you have any tattoos? not yet

42. Are you sarcastic? ummmm, yeah

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? nope

44. Ever walked into a wall? almost daily - it's sad

45. Favorite color? this week? orange

46. Have you ever slapped someone? yes

47. Is your hair curly? not really

48. What was the last CD you bought? Aerosmith (at Half Price Books)

49. Do looks matter? some

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? depends

51. Is your phone bill sky high? no - pretty much the same every month

52. Do you like your life right now? mostly

53. Do you sleep with the TV on? yes, go to sleep with it on timer every night

54. Can you handle the truth? usually

55. Do you have good vision? yep - after LASIK

56. I'm deleting this question b/c I don't like it. don't know what the original question was here.....

57. How often do you talk on the phone? every day at work

58. The last person you held hands with? probably Emily

59. What are you wearing? black pants, green shirt, black sandals

60. What is your favorite animal? none

61. Where was your profile picture taken at? New York City

62. Can you hula hoop? nope

63. Do you have a job? Yes

64. What was the most recent thing you bought? stuff at The Container Store yesterday

65. Have you ever crawled through a window? Not that I can recall

Chillin Squirrel

caught this squirrel just chillin in the tree.....he actually let me walk out on the deck and get real close......