Tuesday, June 12, 2007

What the heck?!

Have I mentioned yet that even after spending $1400 on my car this weekend, my air conditioner is still broken? It's a sore subject, so let's not dwell on it. I only bring it up because the wind/noise of driving with the windows down has a peculiar effect on J-man... he falls asleep.

After work tonight he fell asleep on the way home. A bonus because this meant that I was able to go do the grocery shopping sans munchkin. I'd forgotten what a luxury that was! Man! I could browse the aisles, compare stuff, wander blissfully through the produce department unencumbered. See, I secretly love to grocery shop. I suppose it goes hand in hand with loving to cook, even though my husband will tell you that I avoid the kitchen like the plague. But, while I love to shop, doing so with the kid in tow is more like Mission Impossible meets Supermarket Sweep. (Does anyone else remember that show?)

Really I had a fairly short list of things to get, so I figured I'd be in and out rather quickly, but figured I'd savor my time alone and really get my money's worth.

Little did I know, it was inventory night at the 24 hour grocery mega-mart. What, exactly does this mean? Well, for starters, it means that they are not stocking anything, and there is very little on the shelves. Very little, as in, not a single gallon of whole milk in the entire place! Ummm.... yeah. I considered going for a gallon of 2% instead, but there were only two of them left, and they were both sporting expiration dates that were too close. There were several skim and fat-free gallons, but my kid absolutely WILL NOT drink it. I can't really blame him. I'm not a big milk fan, but if I'm going to drink it, it has to taste like more than white water. And am I the only one that thinks it looks sort of bluish when you pour it? Strange stuff.

For $2.29 I could purchase a half-gallon of whole, but again with the expiration dates! We don't use milk up very quickly around here, so I'm pretty anal about finding a carton that will be fresh for more than two or three days. Then I look over and spy the organic milk all fully stocked in the next case. Only $.70 more than the nearly expired stuff full of hormones. What the heck, right?

I've never really given much thought about my milk. Like I said, we just don't drink a whole lot of it. I can usually talk J into a single serving of it, but he just doesn't like it all that much. The only time I've ever had a craving for it was when I was pregnant, and I've probably consumed less than 24 ounces of it since then. All that said, I've always thought it would be pretty dumb to go out and spend the extra money on organic when it's such a small part of our regular diet. Let's face it... you have to be selective about your extra costs when you've got a paltry budget to work with. I'd rather buy organic produce, since we tend to consume a lot more of that.

But as I sat there, fretting over the fact that I really did need to buy some milk and that I was either going to go semi-cheap and buy the regular stuff with the fast-approaching expiration date, or stifle my thrifty side and actually buy the expensive stuff, I realized that I was being really stupid. I mean, it's less than a dollar more. So, into the cart went the organic milk.

Just this weekend my brother and I were discussing organic milk. He tells me that they buy it for their son, and that it tastes completely different from regular milk. I took his word for it, but now that I've been forced into coming to the dark (or is it light?) side, I'm intrigued. I can't wait to see if J's picky tastebuds agree with it.

Wow, long post about milk, isn't it?

What I really came here to tell you about is how aware I was of the fact that I seem to get stuck in these silly ruts. We all do, I suppose. How many years have you been buying the same toothpaste, or the same pancake syrup? Maybe it's because it's what your mom used and it gives you the warm fuzzies inside, or because it's the less expensive one, whatever... but how often do you step outside that little box for just a second and actively decide to try something new?

Maybe we should all try to apply the quantam mechanics (is there such a thing?) of organic milk buying to the larger things in our lives? In other words, live a little, try new stuff from time to time. Be different. For the love of God, wake up from our zombie-like lives.

BTW, Genisoy Crispy Dippers are like crack! Do not buy a bag unless you don't mind eating the whole damn thing in one sitting. Of course, they're heart healthy (says so on the bag) so why not?

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1 Comments:

At 11:43 AM, Blogger Eve said...

Organic milk does taste a little different. I don't drink it at all, I just get what I use when I cook with it and from my morning cereal -but Anthony drinks probably 4 cups of it a day, and somehow we manage to go through more than 2 gallons a week. Sometimes I buy organic, sometimes not... mostly depends on my budgeting skills for the month. I tend to get the organic stuff the first half, and the normal stuff the second half of the month. LOL ;)

 

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