Bread Outlet Paradise

A bit of a back story. My household has been feeling the economic crunch like everyone else. While my husband has a secure government job, when we transferred from Georgia to Virginia, the big banks were starting to go under. Everyone that was interested in purchasing our home couldn't get approved for a loan. We did rent out the house, and our renter was recently evicted for not paying her rent for 3 months. So, we are feeling the ramifications, like most of my friends and family. There's not much I can do about bills we are already locked into for the moment (cars, cell phone, etc..) but what I can change is the money that goes out on groceries and daily expenses.

One of my favorite discoveries since moving here is the bread outlet. I've heard about them for years, but never experienced just how amazing they are until now. I always figured, why bother searching for one, a few dimes off a loaf of bread isn't going to help much. There is one on the way to my son's school though. I normally run early on picking him and have a few minutes to spare, so I decided to check it out last week. My, how wrong I was about bread outlets not being worth the hassle of seeking them out. Here is this weeks haul:

• 3 loaves of whole grain white bread (some will be frozen)
• 1 12 pack of very large whole wheat burger buns
• 1 loaf of raisin bread
• 1 package of cheese peanut butter crackers
• 16 mini chocolate covered donuts

My grand total was: $5.37 (if I had been thinking ahead, I would have went Monday when they have 10 percent discounts for military service members.)

I was being conservative with my purchases, getting only the basics, but they carry much more than bread. Pies, cakes, english muffins, bagels, chips, cookies and an assortment of other snacks lined every shelf, most of it deeply discounted. If you have one by you, it's worth popping in to see what they have!

7 Day Challenge

I've heard several times that is you do something for 30 days, it will become a habit. I always thought that sounded like a little to much for my ADD self, but I do have a lot of healthy habits I would love to implement in my life. So I am going to knock it down to a one week challenge. If I like the way it's going after a week, I'll bump it to a 30 day challenge. Either way I will post my results here.

My first challenge is going to be "shower daily". Yes I realize it sounds gross that I don't implement that now, and prior to my SAHM days, I did shower every morning before work. You see the problem now is that I am so consumed with taking care of everyone else in my life, my family and pets, that I tend to forget about myself. I also don't tend to get too dirty, as I am a housewife who sits in a clean house all day and rarely works up a sweat (exercise challenge is penciled in for the near future). But I admit I still don't like the idea, of not having that refreshing shower every morning. Which bring me to my other stipulation on this challenge, it must be done in the morning, before my brood arises, or at least as soon as I walk in the door from dropping my son off at school.

Off to start my challenge now. Have a good and sweet smelling day everyone!

Update, day 1 is a success, but I realized I really need to trim down my grooming routine.

Introductions are in Order

Cinderella was a nickname humorously bestowed upon me by my grandmother, and it's oddly fitting in some ways. No, I didn't have two evil step sisters, and my step mother was a valued mentor in my life. I was born into a hard knocks lifestyle though. I had two teenage parents who found themselves in a position of responsibility through being thoroughly irresponsible in every way imaginable. I think I owe my fighting spirit to them though. Fighting for more in life, fighting for what's right and just, and fighting off that dang nickname, Cinderella. Princess syndromes don't appeal to me. I never dreamed of a white prince riding in to save me, because I can save myself thank you very much. That is how this blog title came to be, in case you were curious (you know you were, just admit it)

Now I realize unless you get into my writing enough to become interested in me, this will be immensely boring for you. You have my permission to skip it. No hard feelings. On to best part though, for those of you who care to know About Me:

I have a husband, who I met in the workplace. Pretty typical story, except we were both in the Army, and fell in love in Iraq, in the mist of the invasion, in 2003. Yes, I can feel some of the eye rolls from the back of the peanut gallery right about now. I don't care. I use too, but I don't now. We were both young (19 and 20), single, and there was no lust about it, we knew from the start, that this was "it". We've now been married for 6 years, have a son and 2 cats. It was gamble that is worth all the eye rolls. It's also helped that I've become very accustom to eye rolls anyways, since my son Daniel was diagnosed with autism. I love him to pieces, but he can be a very difficult child, and you'll hear more about it in later posts. I think it would suffice to say for now, that I love him to pieces and he's taught me patience, humility, compassion and understanding to a point where all of them have become second nature for me. Considering the jaded person I was prior to him, it's a pretty big feat. On to my fore mentioned cats, one is an all black kitty, who manages to endear himself to every "not-a-cat-person" he's met. The other is a new addition, from an old friend, a snugly Siamese kitten I've been lusting and dreaming about since I was a child.

My interests are varied, because I tend to get bored easily. If you have any familiarization with the Myer Brigg's typology, I'm an ENTP. As soon as I sate my interest in one subject, I move on before I ever master it. My friends like to call me a walking encyclopedia, not because I'm terribly smart, but because I know a little bit about everything and tend to remember at least a few inane facts about every topic I've studied (and there are many). Some things that stay constant, are my love of a good book, warm drinks, fall weather, accent lighting, throw blankets and too-good-to be true shows (think Disney and Gilmore Girls). Basically, I like all that is comfy and warm. I am also prone to sarcastic sense of humor and a good debate with people that can appreciate arguments in good fun, keep your mind sharp, and are not meant to humiliate or deject.

In short, I've been told by my mentors and beloved friends that I'm the strongest person they've met, and by those who love, but don't understand me, that I'm weird. I'm proud of both observations. I hope to meet some equally weird and strong people in the blogosphere.