Is honesty dead?

Today was the normal grocery shopping day. Since starting The Grocery Game, I have been shopping primarily on Monday every week. Not always, but I try. My goal is to be efficient enough and organized enough to get the list on Saturday afternoon and be out the door and in the store and done shopping Saturday night. There, I must be crazy. People do it though as the store shelves are evident that SOMEONE has been there before me.

I did essentially 5 stores today. Well. . . it was HEB, Randall’s, another Randall’s, Randalls, and Kroger. HEB is always interesting as it is hit or miss on whether or not the store matches “the list.” I should really just drop that list, but I’ll keep it for now. Why? Because I want to know if the new HEB will be better than the older HEB. Not likely, but one can always “hope” right? I did find the peg board with ALL the in-store coupons on it though. . . as I was walking out of the store! *sigh*

Then to Randall’s for the peanut butter. We were already at the crisis stage of peanut butter consumption for this house. If there is not an unopened jar of peanut butter in the cupboard, we are in crisis mode. I bought a couple of jars at Wal-mart last week just because. There was no list last week due to Christmas. It was on the list this week. I should really go back and get a few more jars of it. Really I should. Maybe I will. I mean $1 a jar (less if you had coupons). I only had three $0.55 coupons to combine with the store coupons, so I got 2 jars for $1.45 (or roughly $0.73 each)! OH YES! *happy dance* Like I said, I should go back for more. Too bad that sale is over tomorrow and I am not feeling it. Well, the shelves were a little bare. Wait, that is the understatement of the year! Welcome to the concept of scarcity. Actually there was chunky left. Not that my kids would eat it and since my kids are the primary consumer of peanut butter in this house. . . well. . . so I got 2 of the last 4 jars of the stuff with less sugar and sodium in it. We’ll try it. I got the other things I went in for, but let’s face it with a family of 3 growing boys 36oz of peanut butter isn’t going to be enough to last very long. Neither is 4 boxes of cereal, 1 box of drink pouches, etc.

So off to the next closest Randall’s in hopes to find their shelves less bare. I was in luck. Evidently The Grocery Game induced scarcity is much less of a problem at this Randall’s. I’ll have to keep that in mind in the future. So I got the 2nd round of super savings including 2 more jars of peanut butter. Took that to my car. Repeated the list again with slight variations on things, complete with 2 more jars of peanut butter. I had to spread the big trip out over 3 smaller trips because the “super saving store coupons” required an additional $10 purchase. No big deal, just split the stuff up for 3 individual purchases.

But it was that last trip into Randall’s that concerned me most. Makes one really think. I was unloading the groceries into my car and noticed that they had bagged a box of saltine crackers. I did not buy saltine crackers. At least I didn’t think I had bought saltine crackers. I double checked my list. Nope, no saltine crackers. I immediately checked my receipt to make sure that I was not charged for them. Nope, I wasn’t charged for them. I quickly loaded the remaining groceries into my car and took the box of crackers and my receipt and headed back into the store. I walked up to the customer service desk, hoping there wouldn’t be too long of a line. It was really busy with every one out getting their last minute New Year’s party stuff and what not. Fortunately, there wasn’t a line so I walked right up to the counter and explained to the lady that this were in my bags and I had not paid for them. The look that came next was what caught me off guard for a minute. She looked at me like I had grown a 2nd head or something. Surely I sprouted antennae or something at that moment. Something. She looked at me like I was completely mad. Maybe this isn’t the norm for things like this? Really, is honesty so hard to come by in our society that the poor lady behind the customer service counter at the grocery store has to pick her jaw up off the floor when honest acts are done? I didn’t pay for them. I took them back. I certainly hope that the poor soul who did pay for them and obviously didn’t get them wasn’t sick with the nasty flu bug going around. . . bless their sick achy body if they are in such a state.

That aside, today was a successful grocery shopping day. I got most of what I had on the list. I believe I was still under budget. I managed to get a fair amount of meat to add to the freezer. NY Strip Steaks. Beef Chuck Post Roasts. Chicken Leg Quarters. I even REMEMBERED to take my reusable shopping bags into the stores. Well, I did forget in Randall’s, but in all fairness my bags were full by the 2nd and 3rd trips into Randall’s. I think I need to purchase a couple more of them. None of the stores gave me that “I’ve never seen an alien” look so I was pleased. I once again had to rearrange my cupboards and pantry to get the stuff in there. I like this kind of work. It would help if my children would quit moving things around. But mostly I just find great joy in opening the pantry and finding everything I need right there. I like to be able to change my mind of what’s for dinner on a whim and not have to go to the store to get the ingredients. Not that it never happens, it just is much less often. I probably change my mind more often though. Just. Because. I. Can. HAH! Anyone got some good ideas for using up marshmellows? I’ve got 3 bags of them in the pantry.

Anyway, I hope that everyone has found peace in the closing of this year. Goodbye, 2007. Hello, 2008! May we all have better years ahead of us. May we always remember who we are and act accordingly.