Grocery love

I do a lot of grocery shopping. Sometimes I go to Greenlife Grocery three days in a row and in my embarrassment I avoid certain clerks who now know me and Emery well (yesterday one seemed surprised that Emery was wearing pink, because she said "doesn't she always wear green?" ...  as if she sees her every day!) because I don't want them to think I literally visit their store almost every single day.

I think I'm a little embarrassed because I don't want to be perceived as mindless shopper. This isn't just frivolous spending, this is serious work for me! I get a limited amount of cash in an envelope each month for groceries, and when that cash begins to dwindle, well, my visits to the store actually increase in frequency because I'm terribly afraid of the envelope being empty, so I only buy just what I need for the next meal or two, waiting for inspiration to hit me for what Thursday night's budget dinner will be.

But I realize that's only part of the reason why I go so often. Deep down, I think I really just need to own up to the fact that I love grocery stores. Some people like shopping malls, I like supermarkets. I really do. I would be so sad if I didn't get to do my own shopping or peruse sale fliers. I adore wandering around and look at the cheeses, meats, produce and baked goods, even if I have no intention of buying any of it. This means I'll often get a "can I help you with anything?" from whomever is restocking the dairy case, and my answer is always "no, I'm fine!" Can't a girl just window shop?

So I don't know where all this leaves me, which means I'll close with an adorable picture of our little ham (and no, not one I got at the grocery store!)