Costco and stuff
It was a pretty quiet weekend. Normally I have our little family scheduled to within an inch of our lives, but I didn't have anything planned this weekend. On Friday, the kid and I biked to the park and hung out until the mosquitoes were alerted to our presence. Is it just me or are the mosquitoes unusually relentless this year? I keep finding them in my house. Normally I'm not a fan of killing anything (for spiders, I just pretend I don't see them) but I've been killing mosquitoes left and right. And they are always full of blood. Blech. I always think, "Who's DNA is that?" I have a feeling that the dogs are donating blood pretty regularly.
On Saturday, P went to a nerd fest out of town, so the kid and I went to the farmers' market and then hit the trail with our bikes. Gone are the days with her kiddie bike and her little training wheels. Now she has a big bike and it's all I can do to keep up with her. After biking, we grabbed some lunch and then went to Costco. We just got a Costco locally last year. A couple weeks ago, I went with my friend Sarah to see what sorts of wondrous things are in Costco. When A was a baby, we belonged to Sam's Club. I joined so that I could buy diapers and formula in bulk. Once she turned three and stopped pooping herself, we no longer needed the membership and let it expire. Anyway, I picked up a few things when I was there with Sarah. I couldn't decide if I wanted a membership, though. We are a small family and since I'm the only one in our house who eats fruits and vegetables, I had my doubts about being able to plow through a massive container of strawberries before its contents go bad. However, a rescue friend recommended I give Costco's dog food a try so I decided to go ahead and get a membership. If it turns out we don't use it that much, I'll let it expire.
I have to say that the chick at the membership desk was hardcore. I almost walked out - I was that annoyed. They have a standard $55 membership so that's what I wanted. She gave me a hard sell to buy the upgraded $110 Executive Membership instead. I understood the benefits of the fancier membership, but I had told my other half that the membership is $55 and I wasn't about to go back and tell him that it's double that. This twat would not let it go, though. "Most of our members get the Executive Membership," she told me.
"Yes, I understand, but I just want the $55 membership."
She whipped out a pamphlet so that she could explain the executive one to my feeble brain. I could feel my jaw tightening.
"Is the $55 membership not available or something?" I asked.
"It is, it's just that you wouldn't get the benefits of the Executive Membership." Oh. My God. I scanned the counter for sharp objects.
She finally agreed to give me what I asked for. After getting my card, the kid and I poked around in there for a while. I bought some dog food, a pair of shorts for my husband, a pineapple, a book, and a bag of apple chips. It was all very exciting. Oh, and when I checked out, the cashier announced that she wanted to tell me all about the benefits of upgrading my membership. "Sometimes they don't explain it that well at the front desk," she told me.
"Oh, she explained the heck out of it, but thanks."
After Costco, we stopped at the mall to get a couple more things for P for Father's Day. I got him some three-dollar flip-flops from Old Navy because, you know, nothing is too good for my guy. When we got home, he had returned from the comic book show and was seated at the dining room table, fondling stacks of new comics. Honestly, I don't want to hear a WORD from that boy about how I waste money.
The kid and I decided to give P his Father's Day gifts right away. We got him: a Green Bay Packers folding chair (it has a cooler built into one arm, which is kind of cool), two apple pies (small ones) from the farmers' market, the Dockers shorts from Costco, a photo of A&P made into a curved glass thingie, the flip-flops, this shirt from Dog is Good, and a hat. I think he liked the stuff, but he is not one to exhibit outward excitement so it's hard to say.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We tried to watch American Hustle after the kid went to bed. I'd heard it was good but I couldn't really get into it. I went to bed and left him to finish it. He will always honor his commitment to a movie even if it is really bad. I am reading "Carsick" by John Waters so I fired up my Kindle and read for a bit before succumbing to sleep. I'd had some sangria so this may have contributed to my lack of stamina (or at least wakefulness) at that point.
We didn't really do much for Father's Day today. The kid and I went to church and stayed late so that my friend Annette could give the kid a sewing lesson. She has the skills and the patience and I'm eternally in her debt. After church, the three of us just hung out for the afternoon. P didn't really want to go anywhere, which was fine with me. The kid and I took one of the dogs for a nice long walk.
In other news, this weekend I tried to see how many vegan foods I could eat. I went entirely vegan Friday and today. Saturday was really close, but I ate a Boca sausage with my breakfast and they are not vegan. It's no small feat, knowing what is vegan and what is not. I keep taking photos of packages and sending them to my sister to ask if the item in question is vegan. According to some of the vegan message boards, almost nothing is really vegan. Apparently some vitamins are sourced from animals and it's hard to know which ones fall into that category and which ones are synthetically-derived. I can see how one could drive him/herself crazy. I guess you have to draw the line somewhere, though. I've really been trying to get a handle on my eating. Seeking out vegan stuff just makes me very cognizant of what I am putting in my body. It's surprising to learn of some everyday stuff that is vegan. Ritz Crackers for example. I don't know where the buttery flavor comes from, but it ain't from butter. Fritos and Oreos are also vegan. Not that I plan to eat a ton of those things - I'm trying to focus on eating better in general.
That's all the news for now. The summer is starting off with a bang. The kid finished school on Thursday and starts a summer camp (day) program tomorrow. On the 28th she is flying to Maryland to spend a week at the beach with her grandpa. As soon as she leaves, I am going to clean out her room. Anyone want to take bets on whether I find any living creatures in there? Or dead things even?
On Saturday, P went to a nerd fest out of town, so the kid and I went to the farmers' market and then hit the trail with our bikes. Gone are the days with her kiddie bike and her little training wheels. Now she has a big bike and it's all I can do to keep up with her. After biking, we grabbed some lunch and then went to Costco. We just got a Costco locally last year. A couple weeks ago, I went with my friend Sarah to see what sorts of wondrous things are in Costco. When A was a baby, we belonged to Sam's Club. I joined so that I could buy diapers and formula in bulk. Once she turned three and stopped pooping herself, we no longer needed the membership and let it expire. Anyway, I picked up a few things when I was there with Sarah. I couldn't decide if I wanted a membership, though. We are a small family and since I'm the only one in our house who eats fruits and vegetables, I had my doubts about being able to plow through a massive container of strawberries before its contents go bad. However, a rescue friend recommended I give Costco's dog food a try so I decided to go ahead and get a membership. If it turns out we don't use it that much, I'll let it expire.
I have to say that the chick at the membership desk was hardcore. I almost walked out - I was that annoyed. They have a standard $55 membership so that's what I wanted. She gave me a hard sell to buy the upgraded $110 Executive Membership instead. I understood the benefits of the fancier membership, but I had told my other half that the membership is $55 and I wasn't about to go back and tell him that it's double that. This twat would not let it go, though. "Most of our members get the Executive Membership," she told me.
"Yes, I understand, but I just want the $55 membership."
She whipped out a pamphlet so that she could explain the executive one to my feeble brain. I could feel my jaw tightening.
"Is the $55 membership not available or something?" I asked.
"It is, it's just that you wouldn't get the benefits of the Executive Membership." Oh. My God. I scanned the counter for sharp objects.
She finally agreed to give me what I asked for. After getting my card, the kid and I poked around in there for a while. I bought some dog food, a pair of shorts for my husband, a pineapple, a book, and a bag of apple chips. It was all very exciting. Oh, and when I checked out, the cashier announced that she wanted to tell me all about the benefits of upgrading my membership. "Sometimes they don't explain it that well at the front desk," she told me.
"Oh, she explained the heck out of it, but thanks."
After Costco, we stopped at the mall to get a couple more things for P for Father's Day. I got him some three-dollar flip-flops from Old Navy because, you know, nothing is too good for my guy. When we got home, he had returned from the comic book show and was seated at the dining room table, fondling stacks of new comics. Honestly, I don't want to hear a WORD from that boy about how I waste money.
The kid and I decided to give P his Father's Day gifts right away. We got him: a Green Bay Packers folding chair (it has a cooler built into one arm, which is kind of cool), two apple pies (small ones) from the farmers' market, the Dockers shorts from Costco, a photo of A&P made into a curved glass thingie, the flip-flops, this shirt from Dog is Good, and a hat. I think he liked the stuff, but he is not one to exhibit outward excitement so it's hard to say.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We tried to watch American Hustle after the kid went to bed. I'd heard it was good but I couldn't really get into it. I went to bed and left him to finish it. He will always honor his commitment to a movie even if it is really bad. I am reading "Carsick" by John Waters so I fired up my Kindle and read for a bit before succumbing to sleep. I'd had some sangria so this may have contributed to my lack of stamina (or at least wakefulness) at that point.
We didn't really do much for Father's Day today. The kid and I went to church and stayed late so that my friend Annette could give the kid a sewing lesson. She has the skills and the patience and I'm eternally in her debt. After church, the three of us just hung out for the afternoon. P didn't really want to go anywhere, which was fine with me. The kid and I took one of the dogs for a nice long walk.
In other news, this weekend I tried to see how many vegan foods I could eat. I went entirely vegan Friday and today. Saturday was really close, but I ate a Boca sausage with my breakfast and they are not vegan. It's no small feat, knowing what is vegan and what is not. I keep taking photos of packages and sending them to my sister to ask if the item in question is vegan. According to some of the vegan message boards, almost nothing is really vegan. Apparently some vitamins are sourced from animals and it's hard to know which ones fall into that category and which ones are synthetically-derived. I can see how one could drive him/herself crazy. I guess you have to draw the line somewhere, though. I've really been trying to get a handle on my eating. Seeking out vegan stuff just makes me very cognizant of what I am putting in my body. It's surprising to learn of some everyday stuff that is vegan. Ritz Crackers for example. I don't know where the buttery flavor comes from, but it ain't from butter. Fritos and Oreos are also vegan. Not that I plan to eat a ton of those things - I'm trying to focus on eating better in general.
That's all the news for now. The summer is starting off with a bang. The kid finished school on Thursday and starts a summer camp (day) program tomorrow. On the 28th she is flying to Maryland to spend a week at the beach with her grandpa. As soon as she leaves, I am going to clean out her room. Anyone want to take bets on whether I find any living creatures in there? Or dead things even?
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