How are you coping spiritually/mentally . . .

In light of this impending economic collapse?

How are you staying balanced and not panicking?
------------------
The hubby and I finally sat down and really looked at our books. Thank God for savings. We are hardly breaking even. Groceries have skyrocketed--I bought 5 lbs of flour for 3.50 last month. The same bag of flour was $4.50 last time I went. I am not kidding. This damn car payment. The mortgage. Incidentals and Accidentals. I'm regretting every purchase I've made over the past few months even though intellectually I know that I'm not a frivolous spender. But maybe I could have waited on that Vitamix (though it is really facilitating the green smoothies and I feel really good inside--better than I have in a long time--the other blender wasn't so bad, was it?). And why didn't I put an end to organic groceries month ago? Boy, the belt has just gotten tighter. Feels like a damn girdle. DH is working madd overtime. I'm looking for a way to bring in some kind of income without going back to work full time (would any one even hire me?).

So, I really need to get back to doing my journaling with discipline. Doing my affirmations. Something to help me stay balanced and not panic.

Was going to blog about pasta and tofu "meat" balls. Maybe tomorrow. I'm tired. And worried.

Did you know

You pay more for gas if you use your debit card and not cash?

Found gas the other day for $3.51/gallon and made sure to ask after I noticed that at the last fill-up, I asked for the lowest grade of gas and paid for supreme. Because I paid with debit. So I asked and it's true: you pay more.

So use cash for gas. Actually, maybe it's a good idea to use cash for more things. I love my debit card because I never felt secure carrying around wads of cash. It's become habitual to use the debit card and not cash. I think many people have grown to like the whole debit card business. Well, the times, they are a-changing. And so will we.

Lesson Learned

Okay, so I really like my car. It's a 2005 Subaru Outback wagon that we bought in 2006 when I went back to work. It had about 10,000 miles on it since it had been the dealership's courtesy car. Well, we bought it before I had actually started working which meant we really couldn't afford it. We didn't put anything down (like lots of Americans have been doing) but we aimed to pay it off in a year or so (which we could have done had I stayed at my job). Neither or us likes toting around debt. But the fact of the matter is, I had to leave my job. Whenever I get despondent about how much the car note is and start to romanticize about my job, DH reminds me just how awful it was. That I developed a serious case of hives. And came home in tears most every day. Still, here we are saddled with an admittedly nice, dependable car but it's expensive. It's not what we would have gotten had we not relied on that job to pay it. Hindsight says that since my DH was working evening shifts anyway, I should have driven his car to work until we had saved enough to buy the car. Surely that would have taken at least 5 months and by that time, I would have known the job was not for me.

The plan of action is to rock this car until the wheels fall off. Literally. I'm at 18K miles so far which is excellent for a car that's three years old. We take good care of it and hopefully it will reciprocate. That way, we get every penny out of it. The next car will be something I can buy straight out or at least put a serious down payment on.

Buying my car was, I think, one of those things you do as a young person. I was fresh out of grad school and starting a new career. I thought I deserved something to show my "status". I don't know about anyone else, but life has a sure way of humbling every time I get a little too big for my britches. Every time. So, I've learned my lesson and I've learned it well. I think many Americans are learning it too although, it seems, people have had to learn from even bigger mistakes than mine. And, it would seem, the consequences of these foolhardy choices are going to make life quite difficult and maybe even unpleasant at times for the the next few years.

Granted, we have no credit card debt. Our debt includes the mortgage on our house, the car and $15K in student loans--these are still loans nonetheless and needing a loan to me says "you cannot afford this just yet--wait". I'm not opposed to loans per se because it's clear that this economy is based on a system of loans and debt but I firmly believe that for me at least, I should have at least 1/2 to 3/4 the cost on anything. That lets me know that I can afford it. Like they did back in the day. Work. Save. Cut costs. Work. Save. Cut costs. My new mantra and, for me and my sanity, the best way.

Living within my means. This is one lesson that I hope to teach to my children through example.

A bust!

I've already spent $400 in groceries this month!! However, these are all things that are not perishable, i.e. things that will last in the freezer of pantry for a few weeks, months and even years. So I've increased the grocery budget to $500. That gives me $100 to play with for fruits and veggies at the local vegetable stand. That goes a long way there. I'd really, really like to at least stay below $500. I've been consistently skipping things that I used to like to get like spring rolls and cream cookies, soy ice cream, etc . . . and I am not trying any new recipes (therefore not buying things that I may or may not use again). I really miss trying new stuff but these times call for discipline and shaving off the fat.

In other news, I went to get Z2's passport picture taken and the guy who took it did it all wrong. So I'm going to another place tomorrow to get it done and we'll apply for the passport while we're out.

DH put up some new mailboxes outside. He did it in about 30 or so minutes. I just *love* that he is so handy. It is comforting to know that if the sh** hit the fan, he has skills that are marketable and useful. This is my single biggest wish for my sons (aside from them living fulfilled and happy lives)--that what they can do and what they know is universally and always relevant.

There's so much going on in the world right now

That it seems kind of self-centered to be talking about myself. But this blog is about myself so . . . here I go.

I thought I'd elaborate more on my feelings about cutting my hair. Interestingly enough, the predominant emotion I feel is anger. I can't say that is directed toward anyone or anything but I'm just angry that I cannot have the head full of long, lustrous locks that I have desired for so long. Aesthetically, hair wise, few styles are more pleasing to my eyes than healthy looking, flowing dreadlocks. Since I wasn't lying when I said this last set would be my last set, I am sadly letting go of the dream of having them. It seems that by letting go of dreadlocks, there's a whole set of other things I'm letting go of/realizing. But all that is for my personal journal as I'm not ready to put it out there like that.

Currently I'm trying to convince myself that I look good with my hair this short. I'm also trying to be cool because it might never grow. Maybe through all of this I will come to find out that, surprise, it's all genetic. That thought struck me especially hard when my baby brother who's 17 showed me a bald spot. Come to think of it, lots of guys on my mom's side deal with thinning hair. Maybe this has something to do with my hair loss. Who knows? What I do now is that this whole hair journey has been completely and utterly exhausting. So aside from the anger, I also feel relief.

I am still working hard on emergency preparedness despite the fact that DH thinks I'm "paranoid" and "making him crazy". I'm working on our first aid kit and trying to get some lanterns/other light sources together. Tomorrow, I'm sending DH out to get massive amounts of bottled water. In a few weeks, we should be somewhat recovered financially and we'll be able to purchase the water filter. I can then save the bottled water. I want to find some water purifying tablets. I'm going to apply for Z2's passport on Tuesday. Tomorrow I'm headed to Whole Paycheck for my once monthly trip. Mostly I'll be buying bulk grains and beans.

I've been adhering to the grocery budget and still managing to stock the pantry. It's amazing how much further the dollar stretches when you do non-organic.

Other than that, I'm keeping my ear to the ground and taking everything in stride, trying to find some faith.

New Completed Project

Well, I finally was able to use the cotton yarn I found at the 99 cents store for a project. I had attempted to use it for about two different projects but it just looked too busy. It was, however, perfectly suited for a star afghan. I'm very pleased with it.


I was digging around in the bin that holds other completed projects (at one time I made a whole bunch of things hoping to perhaps vend/sell on Etsy to make extra cash). One project that I found was this hat. It fits Z1 perfectly and, wouldn't you know it, I had knit another hat in the same yarn (Lion Brand WoolEase) and following the same pattern except smaller. It will be so nice to see the two Z's wearing matching hats this winter.

I'm not quite sure what the next project will be. I've got lots of odds and ends yarn but nothing that enough to actually make a whole project and yarn money is not exactly in my budget right now. Plus I don't really feel like knitting/crochet. I'm more into reading right now. Maybe in the next couple of days, I'll go through my yarn bin and surf Ravelry and maybe I'll get inspired. I know a good friend of mine graduates soon and I have an idea of something lovely that I might make her. We'll see.

In other news, I had my wisdom tooth pulled. It was a fairly straightforward extraction. I'm taking Advil (800 mg) which is keeping the pain at bay. Hopefully I'll be 100% in another day or two.

I'm starting to kind of look forward to returning to the workforce when Z2 turns 5 and goes off to kindergarten. There's some serious positives to getting my career in order. I wonder what the economy will look like when I'm ready to go back. I wonder if it will even be an option.

I canceled our Costco membership years ago when I was very strict about organic everything. I think I'll pay them a visit tomorrow to remind myself of the things that we could possibly buy there and I will probably become a member again. I'm hoping to get maybe some big bags of rice, flour (whole wheat and unbleached white), baking powder, sugar, canned tuna/salmon, and other staples that would be good to stock up on. We'll just have to see what they have.

Will it all collapse?

Maybe. But I tend to think that what will happen is that it's time for some other super power to rise (maybe China). Every dog has its day. The U.S. will probably become like Great Britain (it was said in the 19th century that "the sun [did not set] on the British empire"). So I don't think the U.S. will become a third world country. But it will not be on top of the world anymore. There will be a shake-up. Life will probably change drastically. There might be some chaos and some scarcity for while. And that might not be such a bad thing. Nothing lasts forever. And nothing ever stays the same.

What I do tend to think about more is what we will all do when the oil runs out (I believe in peak oil)? That is a global problem and I'm yet to hear any plausible solutions. I read somewhere that we need to stop relying on fuel period, i.e. that we shouldn't be looking for alternative energy sources because beyond the sun and our own strength/will, there is no other fully renewable, 100% sustainable energy source. Even bio-fuel is just not sustainable because corn actually depletes the soil of nitrogen. (In fact, traditionally, corn was never planted alone so imagine how destructive it is to our eco-system all the mono-crops of corn that is grown and subsidized by the U.S. government.)

Can you imagine life without fuel? No oil to drive your car. No oil to power agri-business (so you'd have to plant and harvest your own food using your own energy and ingenuity)? No gas to light your stove or your spliff for that matter? No electricity to power your washing machine and dryer? Your stand mixer??? Your power tools? Talk about going back in time. It's daunting to me. Yet intriguing at the same time. I think I might actually enjoy some aspects of simple, back to the land living. I think I might enjoy what we come up with to power things in the future (hand cranks, water power). I know that the Earth would really appreciate it.

I wonder what the next step for humanity is. What an interesting time to be alive!

A couple of things

Both the boys are asleep. At the same time. So I figured I'd take the opportunity to post a few things.

1. I cut my locks off. Right now, I think I look like a guy. DH hates short hair on women. And I can't seem to grow mine. If I had it, I'd go get some kinky twists or something. But I don't. And DH hates fake hair anyway. More later on how I feel about the whole thing.

2. I figured out how I'm going to cut my grocery spending. I've set a price limit of $480 per month. That means $120 a week. I will buy all fruits/veggies on one set day and all other groceries on one set day. I will limit my fruit/veggie purchasing to the 'hood (walking distance, i.e. no gas). All spending on organic food is on hiatus. I'll be on the lookout for the odd locally grown fruit/veggie. Whole Foods once a month for eggs (2-3 dozen) and other specialty items not found elsewhere. This trip will be combined with Zion's structured playgroup in the same town (no special trip to Whole Foods). I am giving myself $30 wiggle room. The last few month's overspending on groceries, the Vitamix and medical expenses totaled well over $1000. Not good at all. The next few months are going to be lean so that we can recover.

3. In reading a blog I began following called Muslim Bushido (excellent blog, by the way), I came across The Survival Podcast, an excellent resource for those of us serious about preparing for economic collapse.

4. I am considering getting a gun license and purchasing a gun (again). In the event of economic collapse, I would like to be able to protect myself. I've already been robbed once in my house and once out of my car and there was no economic hardship. I can only imagine what my so called fellow townspeople would do if there was an economic emergency. With two small babies, I'm scared about it. Also, I don' t know how to use one. I have to look into how much lessons would cost.

5. I'm looking and learning (in the very preliminary stages) about stockpiling: whole grains, dried beans. Equipment: canning supplies, hand powered grain mill, etc. I'm trying to be balanced and leveled.

6. We turned over the ground for our vegetable garden. I am going to find some containers around here for growing tomatoes (which grow easily in containers) and use the plot for other crops.

7. I have no shirts/blouses for the fall. They are all either too big (I was pregnant last fall) or too small (I wasn't this size the previous fall) or just really jacked up (I wear clothes till they literally fall apart). Here's to hoping that a trip to a shopping area in another 'hood will perhaps yield a score of 3-4 shirts that fell off the truck (i.e. name brand shirts being sold for bargain basement prices). 3-4 shirts with my 4-5 skirts = a decent fall wardrobe, I suppose. If I worked outside the home, that would be different.

Well, that's all that's what's on my mind.

So I'm thinking about homeschool--yay or nay??

It's not that I don't want to. But I'm trying to be very realistic in light of the current economic situation (although some might suggest that the worse the economy gets, the less money will go into education making it more necessary than ever to take schooling your children into your own hands). It takes money to home school. It takes resources. I know I could do homeschooling on the cheap but I'd still have to factor in the cost of outside activities such as music lessons, swim lessons, gymnastics, martial arts on top of how much it would cost to home school. I also know that I'd like to purchase at least math and language arts curricula and well, the costs start to add up. Not to mention that I am having an extremely difficult time finding a home schooling group. There are plenty online but there seem to be a dearth in real life. I am not necessarily the most social of people. Z1 is showing signs of really appreciating being around other children his age. I mean, craving it and loving it. And I want to give that to him.

So I did some preliminary searches on public preschools in the area (because I can't swing private $$). I have my vaccine exemption stuff together and have had it together for some time. I've got a whole list of vegan lunch blogs and recipes ready to prepare healthy (mostly) vegetarian meals for Z1.

I have issues with school, to be sure. I don't think schools necessarily adapt the curriculum to children's specific learning styles. I think schools also waste a lot of time (I know from first hand experience spending a week trying to teach something to a group of 30 kids and then spending about an hour to teach it to 2 or 3 kids--it's just proven, one-on-one or small group instruction works best and most public schools cannot offer that). But I also know that I could do one hell of a job supplementing whatever Z1 would learn at school. It would also give me an opportunity to find ways to make some money either babysitting or doing something else to increase the cash flow. And there's also that nagging thought in my head: I really loved school. Maybe the boys would too. Shoot, even the hubby who was not a stellar student enjoyed school--at least the social aspect. I enjoyed the academic/competitive aspect far more (I don't currently have any friends that I met in grade school or high school).

So I found out that there is at least one magnet school in my town on the "good side of the tracks". If I could get the boys into that school (which is diverse and in which I really enjoyed doing my classroom observations for my master's degree), I think I'd be willing to send them there up until middle school at which point I'd be looking into programs that would allow them to go to private secondary schools on scholarship. My sister did one such program and went to a stellar institution that prepared her for her Ivy college career and gave her opportunities that I never had such as rowing crew(!). I'm hoping there will be other programs in existence when that time comes. I am completely and utterly opposed to my sons attending public secondary school in this town. Absolutely not. I did substitute teaching in one and goodness, no way in hell. I taught in a public middle school (not in my town but in the city) and, no way in hell. I'd have to have absolutely no other options but I'd rather clean folks houses and polish their shoes (not that these are bad jobs but I have a master's degree, you know?) to fund homeschooling if public middle school were my only choice.

I've just been really thinking about it. It takes a whole lot to home school and without the support, I just don't know. I just heard a story about a home schooling mama who just had to bite the bullet and put her children in school because of finance. It's not easy at all.

So many decisions. And I don't want to make any mistakes. There's no room for mistakes when it comes to the education of Black boys who will grow into Black men.

Z1 Just Got Seriously Blessed

With the mother load of books. One of the hubby's co-workers brings her son to work and according to my hubby, her son is one cool kid. Everyone likes him and so no one objects to him being there. Anyway, this boy brought a whole bunch of books with him to work last night with the intention of giving it to someone else. But that person wasn't there and so DH got them. Z1 now has almost every book penned by the popular children's author Mercer Meyer whose character "Little Critter" Z1 really loves. He was beside himself with joy when he woke up this morning and found the stack of books (which also included some Curious George which he also loves). It thrills me to see Z1 get excited about books. His excitement almost matched mine. :)

I'm on a grocery spending freeze

Until the end of September (just a couple of days but significant since I've been going to the market every 3-4 days for greens and such). When the freeze is over and on my ONCE MONTHLY trip to Whole Paycheck, I will get raw cacao to make raw vegan brownies. They're pretty much a Lara Bar (and I love Lara Bars--every variety) but I get to make it at home and we all know that is way more cost effective (read better for my wallet) and better for the environment that buying plastic wrapped bars from Whole Paycheck. :)

Excited About Gardening

Okay, if you know me, you know I have a serious phobia of snakes. I can't even stand to look at them on television or in books. A few weeks ago, Z1 and I were studying about jungles and it took such courage on my part to read about and look at the pictures of snakes. I'm relieved that that unit is over. Anyway, it is my phobia of snakes that has kept me from starting a garden all this time.

But if you have your feelers out, you will know that over the next few months, things are expected to get a lot tighter. The predictions are dire and everyone is encouraged to become more self-sufficient. I've been feeling that way a long time . . . even before I started reading and learning the knitty-gritty details about peak oil. Nothing lasts forever and the U.S., with all it's extravagances and luxuries that people take for necessities, will eventually have to go the way of the Roman Empire. The Bible says that for everything there is a season. The U.S. is no exception.

I digress. We are going to start a garden. I am going to be brave about snakes. When I encounter a snake, I will step back, call the hubby or one of my nephews and have them remove it. I will not panic.

I went to the library today and picked out a few books for beginning to garden. From going to the farmer's market, I have a pretty good idea about the kinds of crops that grow well in this region such as tomatoes, onions, and sweet peppers. We've identified where we would like to start the garden and this weekend, we're going to turn the soil over and fertilize/put down manure. Fall is the time to do it so that it will be ready for the spring.

I'm a city girl, through and through and playing in dirt is not my idea of a good time. I'm hoping though that I will enjoy it, get the hang of it, and be very productive. Shucks, if I could I would have been keeping chickens a long time ago because organic, free-range eggs are too damn expensive and who knows if they are feeding the chickens organic soy instead of an organic variety of grains and bugs. Anyway, I'm excited but the task is also daunting.

Spending Way Too Much on Groceries

So for some reason, this month's grocery bill is significantly larger than the last few months. Well, actually, I do know the reasons. Firstly, I've been going to Whole Paycheck more often than I really should be out of convenience since the Farmer's Market and Whole Paycheck are in the same town. I'd generally hit up the Farmer's Market, swing around and go to Whole Paycheck since it's nearby. I spend on average about 30% more, I would say, at Whole Foods than at any other grocery store. Granted, they have some of the specialty items I need for vegan baking and cooking but honestly, I can make one trip a month to get all the specialty items I need and leave it at that. That's what I was doing and somehow, I fell off the bandwagon. Secondly, I've been committed to drinking the green smoothies and I've been trying to do organic greens and fruits. This has proven to be quite costly. So I found this list (actually, I've known about this list for a while and just remembered about it when I tabulated this month's grocery costs) which basically gives a breakdown of the foods that are most and least heavily sprayed. Looks like I can stop buying organic bananas and onions (which I use a lot). I'm going to print out this list and put it in my wallet.

I started keeping track of the grocery spending back in May and slacked off over the summer. It was really surprising to see how much I've spent in September alone (I kind of knew it would be a bit exorbitant just from the receipts I have in my wallet). So now, I'm trying to get the spending on groceries in some kind of control and stick to a budget. It's true that we rarely eat out so the grocery bill will be kind of high in comparison to some of my friend's and family's bills. But it doesn't have to be crazy.

I often think about

What I will do when the kids are older and don't really need me as intensely as they do now. Oh, I have lots of ideas about the things I'd like to do. But the truth is, my confidence is sorely lacking. I like to write but I'm not convinced I have what it takes. I contemplate going back to school to get my Ph.D. in something like anthropology/nutrition. I know that I excel in academics but do I really think well enough to do something novel in the field? Or will I just be another Ph.D.? I'm not trying to pay for any more school. Am I competitive enough to get a fellowship? I already started a home-based baking business that really has not taken off. Today, I re-vamped it a bit focusing exclusively on baking cookies (Check out the myspace page). All while working on it, I did not feel the least bit hopeful or optimistic. At the end of all that, I wonder if I should just go back to teaching. I know I really wouldn't want to teach because I don't feel that teaching is family-friendly at all. But I have the degree. I know I can do it. I don't know that I'd be a phenomenal teacher but I'd be okay. I could work on becoming phenomenal. Maybe after I teach for a while, I could pursue an advanced degree? Teach on the college level? Do research? That would give me the qualifications I need to open up my own school here or in Africa.

My one encouragement is that as the children start to need me less that it will become very obvious to me what is it that I should do to attain success in my own eyes because I will have the energy to look for and pursue it. I think I haven't yet stumbled upon what it is I'm really supposed to be doing. I don't have the time or the energy right now and I wonder will I ever have the luxury of "finding myself". As always, there's the nagging pressure of reality and the need to "pull one's own weight" and when the kids (who are my main job) are not so needy anymore . . . It's cool having the hubby provide financially for now but I know that at some point, mama wants to bring home the bacon too.

I know that 3/4ths of success is having the right mindset. It just seems that when I get excited and hyped about something, fully believing it's going to work, it just doesn't. I've done the whole manifesting thing, thinking positively, making affirmations--the whole nine yards. I have a vision statement that I faithfully looked at every day to encourage myself. Many of the things in that vision statements are still not anywhere close to being reality. My hair was one of those things. My allergies another. I affirmed coming into money for months and months and thought that by now surely my car would be paid off somehow. Every idea I got for making money, I pursued it thinking it was divine inspiration. I just don't know. I'm in such an interesting place spiritually.

The one thing I am excited about and (I think) very successful at is mothering and homemaking. I pour 110% of my energy into it and I seem to get 110% returns. That is why I'm so focused and passionate about it.

A part of me wishes that I had gotten a career in order or achieved some kind of goals (beside graduating college) before I settled down and had children. It's next to impossible to really focus on yourself/hear yourself think while taking care of a busy household. It's past midnight right now. I have to be up by 6:30/7:00 to take Z1 to his structured playgroup tomorrow. I feel like I'm stealing time just to post this.

Here's to figuring all this stuff out. I hope it's resolved by the time I'm 30. For real, yo.

I popped . . .

My double stroller tire. I have a Phil & Ted's Sport and the tires are all air-filled which makes walking really enjoyable. Usually on Saturday, I take the boys for a nice long walk in the stroller. I look at houses and listen to music, Z1 chatters away and sings to himself, and Z2 just cools out. So around 4:00 PM, I wrassle Z2 into the stroller because the brother really hates being strapped into anything. I head out. Along the way, I notice that a car repair shop is open and so I figure I might try to get them to help me put some air in the tires. There were three mechanics: two young ones and an older one who I think owned the place. One of the young ones comes over to help me and asks the older one permission to fill the tire. The older one tells me that I have to take the children out of the stroller but after struggling to get Z2 in there, I really don't want to. So I tell him that it's okay, that I've filled it before with them in there and it was not a problem. He is not having it and says to the younger guy that if I don't take the kids out, that I should do it myself because "I don't want nobody coming after me". Now, I don't know who crossed him before but isn't such a damn shame that in this society we live in, you can't trust people anymore? I really didn't want to do it myself as I had on a not-so-comfortable skirt and I didn't want to mess up my hands. But whatever, the guy got the hose out for me. It was a strange looking hose and I had to fiddle with it quite a bit. A first I was just taking air out of the tire and then I realized that the other nozzle would probably put air into the tire. So I finally get the air pumping and I'm about to take the nozzle off to check the pressure with (oh so cute, bought specifically for this purpose) pressure gauge when **PLAM**. The tire explodes. Shit. Not only am I embarrassed as hell (because it looks like I don't know what the hell I'm doing even though I've done it tons of times before) but my tire is busted. I can't even patch it. That's how busted it is.

I call the hubby. He asks how it happens and I tell him and he says, "Well, I can't do anything from work, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah" and I say to myself, "Self, now why did you waste your time calling him? . . . you knew what he would say." So I call around to some other folks to see if I can get some numbers to somewhere--just trying to figure out what to do next. I'm rolling my broke down stroller the two or three blocks it takes to get back home. I get my niece to get me the number to a baby store where they carry my stroller and I find out they don't carry parts but that any bike store would. The only bike store I know is two towns over. Meanwhile, the hubby has called me like 4 times already while I'm on the phone. I'm finally call him back like, "Yes?" And he says, "There's a bike store on the avenue"--I cut him off because I'm already driving to the one I know. Why didn't he volunteer this info when I called him? Whatever.

By the time I get to the bike store, The Z's are knocked out cold. Darn it. Z1 has no bladder control when he's sleeping. Anyway, I put Z2 on my back and Z1 in the single stroller and go and get a new tube. Z1 is still sleeping. I head over to the grocery store across the street but then decide to go back to the bike store to get a pump because honestly, I'm tired of folks snickering at me and asking me if I know what I'm doing when I go to the gas station to put air in the tires. Z1 is still sleeping. Of course, he's peed on himself. Great.

I was planning to make some cornbread following this recipe from perhaps my favorite food blog Nyam: Adventures in Cooking and Eating. Would the grocery store have some simple, plain old corn meal? Of course not. That would be too easy.

The day would have been a complete bust if three things had not happened earlier:
1. We went to the thrift store and I was able to score 5 books for a dollar a piece:The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I've read The Kite Runner and Memoirs of a Geisha before but they are definitely ones to have in the library and to re-read. I'm looking forward to reading the other three after I get done with what I'm reading now (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn).
2. We went to get Z1 some sneakers that he could wear with thicker socks for the fall. The price on the box read $29.99 but they rang up $20.73. WooHoo. It's great to be a "preferred customer" even though I'm not sure what qualifies me for that. Granted, these sneakers are themed sneakers (Disney Pixar's Cars) and they light up but Z1 was so pleased with them, I couldn't deny him. He's never even seen Cars but I guess he likes the character (Lightning McQueen).
3. We went to the playground and after we were there for a while, my good friend and her two kids arrived quite unexpectedly. Oh, Z1 was beside himself and it was such a joy to see how lovely and nice her two babies are growing, so tall, healthy and beautiful. My friend and I re-committed to seeing each other regularly again.

So overall, it was a good day with some bumps. The boys have been down almost an hour. The kitchen is clean. All the towels and table linens have been changed. I'm about to make a cup of tea and relax until the hubby gets home.