All posts by Nichole

Family matters

Quirky

  1. I don’t like to wear socks when I’m relaxing. If we’re at home watching TV or I’m reading a book, the socks are coming off. It’s genetic, apparently, because my dad and my brother do the same thing.
  2. At the grocery store this week, I saw a bag of hardboiled eggs. I tried to tell Rockford how gross it would be to open the bag and look inside at all of those shiny, slimy orbs. And I couldn’t finish the sentence. I had to stop in the middle of the aisle, close my eyes and breath deeply. I’m surprised I was able to type it. The quirk? I can be a little squeamish.
  3. I don’t like it when my clothes touch me. This may be more of an insecurity than a quirk.
  4. I have two pillows on my side of the bed, but apparently I don’t make optimal use of them. Rockford brought this one to my attention just this week. He claims that I only use a tiny corner of one of the pillows when I sleep. He may be right about this. I like the way the rest of the pillow sort of billows up behind my head. Typing it out like that makes it seem much stranger.
  5. I love watching previews when I go to the movies. If they offered such a thing, I’d watch previews for two hours instead of watching the movie.
  6. I like planning and making lists. My follow-through, however, is not so great.

(Thanks for the tag, Renee!)

Social Media

Friday links! Sports & politics

  • I was sad to read that the International Bowling Museum is headed to Texas. We were exploring St. Louis a few years ago with our friend Don, and the bowling museum was one of our stops. It was tucked away, a little off the beaten path. And there was a bowling alley in the basement. The guy running it gave us a few extra games for free. It was a nice afternoon.
  • The always spectacular Photojojo has some tips on how to look great in pictures.
  • I always enjoyed reading Richard Cohen’s columns when I worked at the Tribune. His column Tuesday on the Palin-Biden debate titled “This Debate’s Biggest Loser” summed up just what I’ve been feeling lately:

    But what about Palin? Can you imagine the reaction of the press corps if [Hilary] Clinton had given the audience a “hiya, sailor” wink? … Ah, but the scorn, approbation and ridicule that would have descended on Clinton … I agree with Palin. It’s the mainstream media that flunked.

  • This Super Mario Brothers wedding cake was featured on Cake Wrecks as an example of Awesome. Boy, I wish I knew someone who was getting married next September or so. I’d totally encourage them to have a cake like this.
  • A drunk man stumbles home and goes to sleep. In the wrong house. Could have had a tragic ending. But the homeowners were nice!
    • Eating

    The price of tea in China

    9 Comments

    There’s an interesting poll over at Titus 2:3-5 this week. ET’s food budget has been through the roof, and she’s wondering if the price of groceries in her area is comparable to others.

    Our primary method of keeping the grocery bill low is by shopping at a discount grocery store. There’s a great one here that sells mostly organic goods. We take our list there before we go to the “regular” grocery. I’m not so good at remembering how much things cost (or anything else, for that matter), so I’ve enlisted some help from Rockford and our friends Don and Carrie in filling out this list. Carrie is a CPA, so this is probably pretty darn accurate.

  • A gallon of milk … $2.50 at the “cheap store” or $3.89 at the regular store
  • 5 pounds of potatoes … $4 at the regular store, on sale
  • Price per pound of … apples, 99 cents at the farmer’s market; oranges, $1.50 a pound (we rarely buy them because they’re too pricey); bananas 39 cents a pound at the cheap store, 69 cents elsewhere; grapes $1.29 a pound on sale.
  • A head of lettuce … $1.39 at the regular store
  • A cucumber … 69 cents
  • Tomatoes … 99 cents a pound at the farmer’s market, $2.98 at the regular grocery
  • 2 pounds of carrots … $2 at the regular store
  • A box of mac ‘n’ cheese … 99 cents on sale at the regular grocery
  • About a pound of frozen corn … $1.29 at the regular grocery
  • Two 1-pound “blocks” of coffee … $4 at the cheap store
  • 12 double-rolls of toilet paper … $7 on sale at CVS (regularly $11)
  • A pound of ground beef … $1.98
  • A pound of chicken … $1.98 (Sam’s Club and the cheap store)
  • A pound of pork chops … $4
  • A pound of butter … $3.30 at the regular store, $2.50 at Aldi
  • A package of cookies like Oreos … 99 cents at the cheap store
  • A can of beans … 59 cents
  • A can of diced tomatoes … 89 cents
  • A pound of spaghetti … $1.29

    How does that measure you with your neck of the woods?