Grocery bagging

My sister called me yesterday to give me a topic to blog about. She was seething about something that just happened to her. Her question to me is: What has happened to baggers at the grocery store? Why do they NOT know how to bag groceries?

It is so true. Why do the stores feel that it is necessary to give us multiple bags for a few items? Is it really necessary that the eggs go into their own separate bag? Does that bag have special teflon coating which will prevent anything from damaging eggs? Plus, I do believe that those plastic bags can hold more than just 1 shampoo bottle and a National Enquirer. Perhaps I'm overestimating the tinsle strength of plastic grocery bags, but I can swear that I can fit 4 sweaters, 3 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of shoes into one bag when I'm sending things off to Goodwill.

My sister worked in a local grocery store in high school. Back then the stores actually taught kids how to bag groceries. Heavy items on the bottom and lighter/delicate things on top.

Frozen/cold items should go together. I really don't want to see my deodorant or shampoo go into the bag packed with frozen peas and pizza. Nor do I want to find my cottage cheese at the bottom of the bag that housed my cereal. Don't get me started on peppers - I've seen baggers put the green peppers on the bottom of the bag!!?? Oh, banana's too. GEESH!!

Maybe my next career should be a Bagging Consultant. I can go around the country teaching people how to properly bag groceries.

Oh, perhaps I should write a book:
Bagging for Dummies
Where do I put the pickles? Tips for being the best bagger.
Pack your Bags
Groceries: It's not just a job, but a career!

Intervention

A few of my friends in my Mom's Club believe that I need an intervention of some sort. See, there are things that I tend to leave out of my blogs - such as my shirt I was wearing on St. Pat's night out.... It said: Check out THESE shamrocks! Personally, I thought it was hallarious - and so did many a bar partron that evening.

What really is happening is that these small group of friends are finally starting to see the real me. They've always known that I was a little wild and "non conforming", BUT I don't think they realized to what extent. I was asked today if in my "youth" I stayed out late and went to bars like I do now - I replied no, but when I thought about it, yes, I did.

There was a long spell when I didn't go out. I was a complete homebody, but looking back, I did miss it. I also want to state that not every time I go out do I drink. I didn't miss the drinking, just the social aspects of going out and having some good ole fun.

So, my friends, try an intervention - however, you may find yourself at a bar with me having a grand ole time!!

Lame Irish Bar

I totally forgot to mention the VERY lame Irish bar we went to on Saturday night. So, as we all know this weekend was St. Patty's weekend - great weekend to hit some bars for lots of fun. After bunco about 8 of us decided to head out to a new irish bar that opened up in town. We were all dressed in green, Kiss Me I'm Irish buttons, and slogan shirts. Most of the girls got there before me b/c I was hostess of bunco and had to clean up a bit.

Anyways, the minute I walked into the bar I knew that it was LAME!! No one was wearing green, no signs around the bar promoting St. Patty's Day...and a very very geriatric "Irish" band was playing on stage. Mostly playing ballads!! OMG! No one was dancing, in fact, the people at the table next to us were drinking TEA!!! TEA!!! COME ON!! It's a freakin' bar and SPD weekend!

My old love and new love....

I know in previous posts that I said I was parting ways with my Lover. However, parting is bitter sweet and difficult to do. Yes, the Captain is back...at least he WAS back last night. ONLY because I couldn't/can't come up with a better drink.

HOWEVER, that was before Catrina introduced me to AMF's. Holy Moly!! The few sips I tried of hers...YUMMMO!! Next time I head out to the bar - it's AMF for me. I have been warned that I must consume AMF's in moderation and slowly. They probably have the same alcohol content as Long Island Ice Tea's and those I love, but bartenders at clubs rarely make them correctly. They seem to jip you on the alcohol. Shame on them.

Get the wheelbarrow ready, Girls - T is going to need a ride home!!!

Drunk Drama

Why is it that when girls go out together that some need to create drama? I will not go into details, but let's just say that tonight was less than stellar and I had been looking forward to it for a long long time.

Bunco was a blast, it was the after bunco that wasn't so fun. It's 3:47am and I'm still waiting for the drama to end so I can go to bed. See, it's taking place in my own freaking house!!! OMG!! WOMEN!! I just wanted to go to the bars, drink and dance. That's it. period. end of story. Obviously that didn't happen. No details will be revealed, but T ain't happy.

Relatively at peace

After 10 days of family visits, my house guests have left. I had my sister from Chicago and my mom from North Carolina visiting. My sister and I had a whirl wind tour of the area - we packed in a lot of stuff in her short time visiting. In fact it was so busy, that I threw my back out - BAD!! YOWCHIE!!

The minute Karen got off the plane we were off touring the area. Of course, one must ALWAYS take people out to visit Multnomah Falls. It was a beautiful day, so off we went. That was day 1.
Day 2 - bopping around Portland in the Pearl District.
Day 3 - to the coast and Tillamook cheese factory
Day 4 - back to Portland for more shopping and pick up Mom from airport.
Day 5 - up to Seattle and Pikes Market shopping with mom

My sister left the next day, but there is no rest for the weary. No sooner did Karen get on a plane and I was off to the chiropractor for some much needed back relief. M was out of town, so my mom and I did some grocery shopping for dinner that night.

Next day was filled with going to my Mom's Club with D. My mom tagged along. She had fun meeting my mommy friends. We went out to lunch.

Next day was more shopping and another chiropractic visit...

Thursday had playgroup come to my house. 5 little 3yo's in the house!! Actually, they all play very nicely together. Mom and I went out to lunch.

Friday - was much needed sitting around the house.

Took mom to the airport this morning. PHEW!!!

Off to bunco with friends tonight. Will probably be a late night....no, it's going to be a very late night!!!

Nephew Shawn update II

On Tuesday, March 11, Shawn underwent a biopsy on the mass in his brain. The neurosurgeon did believe that the mass was a tumor and he was correct. Because they don't use the word cancer for brain tumors, it is a non-aggressive tumor (benign). Shawn will be undergoing surgery on Monday to remove the mass. The tumor is in the 2nd to worst area of the brain for surgery. The worst part would be your brain stem.... The tumor is so deep, that radiation and Chemo wouldn't eliminate this mass. From those who have kept up, the tumor is pretty much in the very center of his brain. It's pushing on his hypothalamus and petuitary gland (you can google those things and see where approx. it is). This will be a major surgery, but the dr is hopeful that he will be able to remove all of the mass. Again, because the tumor is so deep in the brain, even the MRI's aren't giving a clear picture of what it may be "grasping" onto, so that will be the tricky part during the surgery.

However, if there is good news to all of this it is that this is a benign mass (or extremely slow growing) and that the dr. is confident in his ability to remove it. Hopefully, having this thing removed will restore some function to Shawn. Currently, there isn't much happening. He doesn't walk, talk or feed himself. He is 8yo and wearing diapers again. MAYBE this surgery will allow his brain to feel "less stress" and start regaining some functions again.

I will keep everyone updated....

It's so green!

After picking my sister up from the airport yesterday, it was still early enough in the afternoon that I decided to take her to see the Fall's....yes all of them off of Hwy 84. It's the "tourist" thing to do when people come here from out of town.

First, my sister, who flew in from freezing Chicago, is LOVING the warm weather and clear blue skies. I heard about a million "I can't believe how fabulous this weather is" statements. It's OK thought b/c I tend to brag to my Chicagoans about our fabulous warmer weather we have this early in the year. BTW - they get me back around May when it's in the 70's there and we're still suffering in the 50's/60's.

So, we make it out to Multnomah Falls and my sister is in awe. Yes, it is a very pretty falls to go see. Well, as we're walking up to the falls my sister cannot believe how green everything is. Green grass, green moss, green tree's....etc. She comments on all the greenery. See, in Chicago this time of year, everything is brown. The grass is still dead/dormant (aka brown), no leaves on any tree's and barely any evergreen type tree's...so it's a lot of brown. Plus, the sun rarely shines. So all the green around here is a breath of fresh air and "life" to those who suffer in brown.

FOMS

I have a terrible case of FOMS. What is FOMS you ask? Fear of Missing Something. There are times when my FOMS is so strong that I must forgo "normal" everyday tasks in order to talk, text or message friends. I just like knowing what is happening. It's so bad that I borrowed DVD's from a friend so I can be in the "know" when they talk about a certain show. Which by the way is really really good!! I digress.....

I just hate being anywhere with a group of friends and have a smaller group breaks off into their own conversations. I wonder what they're talking about. I check their body language, catch snippets of their conversation, but most of the time I'll wander from one group to another so I can get "caught" up on what I missed.

I have friends that also have FOMS. It must be contagious. I don't recall having FOMS before - it wasn't until they stated that they have the disease that I looked at my own life and realized that I have it to. I wonder if there is an online test to determine the extent of the disease b/c you know that you can dx anything on the internet these days.

I may need a FOMS support group, but then the problem with that is I would need to be there all of the time b/c if I'm not, then I'm afraid that I may miss something important.

hmmmm - it's a dilemma. I'll be sure to be reading everyone's blogs, texts and emails regularly or I may miss something good.

The Captain - my love

Most of you know that I've been having an affair with "The Captain". That would be Captain Morgan rum - I was so in love with him. We had good times, but it's time I've said goodbye to my lover. Yes, my friends, it's over. I have tired of the Captain and we must part ways. Most affairs are secret, but not this one - everyone knew, including M.

This weekend has put me over the edge and I can't even THINK about drinking another rum and coke. UGH!!

So I'm on the market for a new love. Maybe I need to go back to the basics. I was in "like" with Mike (Mikes Hard Lemonade) for a short while, and perhaps he'll fill my needs for the evening. I need to find one quick b/c I have some drinking to do tonight!! It's girls weekend and time is running out.