Frugal In Florida

This has been bothering me for several days. I was in the grocery store the other day ... it's a store that has a high clientele of non-english speaking individuals (and heavy cash usage) ... alot of different cultures and backgrounds in that store. Anyways. I was standing at the fish counter to get some of the $4.99 per lb shrimp (does not go on sale to that price very often anymore) and there was an older lady, maybe late 60's next to me, getting a big slab of salmon. To my other side is a young mom, with a little boy about 3 years old. He's messing with stuff at his level, as kids will do ... and she just reaches out and cuffs the kid on the side of the head, right over his ear. The little boy screams bloody murder, hand to ear and starts kicking at the wall in anger. Umm. Ok. Tears flowing and just howling. I'm trying to ignore the kid, not sure what I've just witnessed. They go to walk behind us, and the older lady is making shhh shhhh shhh sounds...

They ask that you make a small donation to Children's Miracle Network. So. Am I a bad mom for giving my kid a tardy note so he and his friends can go to IHOP this morning before class? Ummm. They will be one hour late (told him he had to be at school by 8am whereas school starts at 7am). Now before you start giving me the lecture, keep in mind, Senioritis is kicking in full time for the kid. He's a decent student (not perfect, but far better that I was) AND today is the FCAT writing test for those 10th graders. AND the first block (2 hours) is actually 3 hours long today, and its Music Comp. I think I am a GOOD mom ... I weighed all the pros and cons on this one. So long as he's there by 8am, I'm fine (and he makes that donation) ...

Uhhh...so we've sort of, kind of fell off the menu plan this week (see the past 3 days of pantry challenge !) and last night, after Hubby had a huge green salad with the works and I had my nachos, Sonny Boy strolled by and asked what was for dinner? (!!!!????) ... somehow this kid gets his timing JUST RIGHT. Told him to fend for himself. Soup? Grilled Cheese? Mac and Cheese (freezer) etc. No, no and NO. He wanted Spaghetti. Not the short noodles. Not the curly ones. Don't even think of them funky bowties ones mom. The long stringy ones. You know, that you have to twirl around your fork? Oh. Ok. Hmmm ... I have NO SPAGHETTI left. How about some lasagna? That was on the menu plan :) So, now I have to "watch" for a decent sale on spaghetti to buy a few boxes. Ho hum. If that's the worse of this pantry challenge, I'm in!

Again it rained and rained hard. We really need it so I'm not going to complain too much, but still, a little dry weather would be appreciated too right now! Didn't get out on the boat ... obviously. Too many gusts of winds within those storms. They aren't the ususal 'on the breeze' either, but hours long. So instead, I tackled the kitchen on Saturday as I have a large bag put together (again) for goodwill. While I did the kitchen, dh did his dresser. He got rid of a lot. Then he tackled the garage. Really, the garage is not 'bad' as we do park the Tahoe in there, and it's not a storage area. He's very neat & orderly, obsesively so at times so not a lot wrong, just purge time! The kitchen was interesting, to say the least. I did the pots and pans, baking dishess, and my large appliance & mixing bowl sections (3 cabinets, below counters). Tossed a lot. Rearranged (swapped out the pots & pans with the appliances, like food processor ...