Aw, potatoes!

The last time I went to the grocery store, I was on a mission. I had a set amount of cash in my wallet and I didn't want to spend more than that amount. So I took out my trusty iPhone (calculator included) and started adding up my total as I dropped things into the cart.

Boy, it's amazing how much more I think about things like fruit snacks and tortilla chips when I'm shopping that way. Anyway...I made my way to the produce section. There was a big bag of potatoes -- 5 or 10lbs., I can't remember which, for some ridiculously low price. $2 or so, I think.

I thought "Potatoes. Inexpensive. Versatile. Chock full o' vitamins." and slung the bag into the cart.

Last night I opened the bag to make oven baked fries to go with our dinner. I was feeling triumphantly Martha Stewart in a frugal sort of way. I even got out my fancy Pampered Chef wavy slicer thing (I'm sure it has a more sophisticated name) and cut the potatoes with that.

I placed the slices on my Pampered Chef baking stone, sprinkled them with salt, popped them into the oven and...

VOILA!

 

I am SO hiring a personal chef when I win the lottery! And now what am I going to do with the other 9-1/2 pounds of potatoes?

Crab salad

I just posted this status update on my Facebook page:

"Warning: I am crabby today. Like I could eat small children for breakfast. That is all."

For the record, I already had breakfast (that did not include any human ingredients), so I am not crabby because I'm hungry. And I feel a little guilty spewing my crabbiness online on a Sunday, but I'm hoping that getting it off my chest makes me feel better.

So here is a list of ingredients for today's Crab Salad:

1. My children keep reading over my shoulder. "Mom, what did you just type? Why are you looking up that?" Next time they do it, maybe I'll Google "How to give your kids up for adoption" or "3 ways to pay for military school."
   
2. Mike is trying to plan a 40th birthday party for me, which is very nice. What is not nice is that he is not listening to my pleas for something simple. So when I logged into Facebook to see that he is looking for a freaking BAND to perform at the party, I went from content to crab in about 1.4 seconds.
3. I'm anxious about money. Who isn't? But this time of year -- back to school -- seems to suck it out of my bank account faster than it goes in.
4. Charlie's birthday party is today (only 4 weeks after his actual birthday) and he's not being very humble about it. I know he's excited and he's 11 and it's my job to teach him to be humble and gracious, but why does he have to be so thick-skulled about it?
5. Robbie did not go to bed until after 11pm last night because I was not home. And the effects of the late bedtime are already showing. This must-be-within-3-feet-of-mom-at-all-times phase is really starting to wear on me.
6. I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm regretting not getting more done around home during my week off.

I guess the good news is that I didn't even make it to 10 things that are making me crabby. Only 6, which is likely manageable. So maybe later today I'll be able to come back here and post something that is more wit than whine. Thanks for letting me vent.