Health Food Shopping and Annual Retreat

The other day I went to our local health food store. I've never been a big shopper at these stores because our pared-down budgets usually don't leave a lot of room for health food. The other big reason is that the more stores I go to and the more shopping trips I take, the more I spend. It seems more economical, considering my spending propensities, to go to one place once a week.

But at this health food store, for $43.55, I got:

• local corn tortilla chips
• a bag of organic apples (not pictured - eaten)
• two avocados (not pictured - eaten)
• a bell pepper (not pictured - eaten)
• Rice Dream rice milk, half gallon
• a bottle of B12 lozenges, 100 count
• Bob's Red Mill creamy wheat cereal
• a loaf of Rudi's organic sourdough bread (not pictured - eaten)
• Brown Cow plain yogurt
• Glutino gluten free whole grain crackers
• a can of sesame tahini

I might be forgetting a thing or two, because I foolishly decided to post about a grocery trip that happened a week ago.

I was pleased enough with this trip that I just might go back.

This Saturday, I am going on my Annual Retreat. Last year was very fun, and I spent about $10 total for two whole days off. Erik took care of the kids while I spent from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. of Saturday and 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. of Sunday out on the town. I told him all I really wanted was a break from getting all the kids' meals prepared and then cleaning up them and the dining room and kitchen several times a day.

First, I went to Starbucks and had a small breakfast and coffee. I read and wrote while I was there. Then I went to our local library and browsed to my heart's content. I sat down to read a big stack of books and also wrote a little there. After that, I drove to a nearby cute town which houses a university. I spent time in their university library doing the same sorts of things. In the afternoon, I did price-comparison trips to our WalMart and a couple of other stores, without buying anything. Then I bought several household items at the Dollar Tree for a total of about $8. I ate a lunch-snack from the Dollar Tree and waited to eat dinner until I was at home. The kids were already in bed. Then Erik and I spent a regular evening together.

The next day was more of the same, but I missed my family a lot, so I went home in the afternoon and made dinner for everyone instead of staying out until after bedtime.

This Saturday, I plan to do similar things for one day. Only one day because 1) I don't feel as much of a need to get away and 2) Erik has a work trip coming up so I want to spend one full day as a family. Erik plans to take the kids to a boat race being put on by his friends. I'll buy frozen pizzas for them to have for dinner.

It's nice to have a day to myself before the busy holiday season.