Just Learned a New Word and a New Fruit...

So the Mac n Cheese at Costco: Warning! This container is not Microwaveable or Ovenable. Ovenable.  Never seen that word before, but it makes sense.  The old packaging use to be able to go into the oven, but the new packaging is plastic on all sides, so it's currently cooking in a pot, overseen by my sister-in-law.  Google recognizes the word whereas the spell check on this blog does not.

Also, at Costco, I discovered a new fruit!  Pineberry.  No pictures yet, as I want to try the fruit before I say more on the subject, only that the smell is divine and I'm oh so excited to try one.

The family is over.  We're having a Happy Unbirthday party, celebrating all the birthdays in the last few months that got missed for one reason or another, so we're celebrating them all at once. The Pokemon cards I ordered for the kids all came in, just in time, and I finished organizing and then sleeving them.  Also, I bought several packs, and then my Mom bought more packs today, opened them all, and later tonight I'm going to set them out and the kids will pick their favorite Pokemon, one by one.  No idea if this is a good idea or a bad idea, but it sounds like fun!  Ah!  Hopefully it will go well. But I'm pokemoned out.  Got some cards for myself, which I'm going to use as bookmarks. :P  

Now to rejoin the fam and see what needs help.  Sitting down these few minutes was nice. 

Tóg go bog é!

(Take it easy in Irish)

Sarah

 

You Can Always Tell What Costco is Baking!

Yesterday I went to Costco to get my glasses adjusted.  Now, there's something interesting about Costco, or at least the one I shop at.  While in the parking lot, on the opposite end where the bakery is, it always smells on the outside what is baking on the inside.  It's torture, really.  Sometimes the parking lot smells like bread.  Sometimes it smells like pie.  Yesterday after getting out of the car I was hit by the lovely scent of... chocolate chip cookies!!  And honestly it was pretty heavenly.

So entering Costco what did I find? A whole bunch of chocolate chip cookies all stacked up in tempting fashion.  My nose didn't fail! Also, I resisted the urge to get them.  But then I got cake!  And that's another story altogether.  Trying to do the whole one treat a week thing, probably not a good thing to have cake on a Monday, but it happened, ah well, tasty.

In other news Costco is still all out of toilet paper.  A truck came in yesterday morning with toilet paper, and apparently it was sold out in about ten to twenty minutes.  And we don't even have a toilet paper drought in Utah County.  Other stores are fine.

It's just Costco. (Edit, 03/12/2020), Walmart, now, as well)

Ironically the hand soap, positioned within eyesight of where the toilet paper is sold, is still fully stocked.  These Italian style hand soap bottles, for only $10, going on sale tomorrow, are the cutest and smell really good.  There's English on one side and French on the other.

 This isn't the cake I got, but since I routinely write about holiday stuff, it's pretty funny this Happy St. Patricks Day cake has a sell by 03/10/20.  Is cake good a week?  Dried out cake is never good.  But if anyone wants to celebrate the love of the Irish early, go for it.  That's awesome. 

So, I was going to Costco to get my glasses adjusted.  After 6 years I finally got new frames!  I liked those old frames so much I bought a second pair 4 years ago, having two of the same in slightly different prescriptions.  Somehow I went 4 years without getting my eyes checked, but while at Disneyland last month I accidentally scratched my lens with a zipper.

Scratched glasses are annoying.  Forced me to get my eyes checked.  Didn't even know it had been four years!!  Thought it had only been two!!

But, I got two brand new glasses this time, one with a blue-light filter, thing.  Don't know what it's called. It's 7 am, time change, not quite ready to think clearly.  But over the weekend I was finishing up a personal family history book project. 15 hours on Saturday, 12 on Sunday, 27 hours in total starring at a computer screen.  No headaches!  No migraines!  This could be life changing.

Martinelli's, Utah, California, and New Years

Happy 2016!!  Can you believe we've been in 2016 for a week now?  I keep writing 2015 instead of 2016, so a part of me is still trapped in the past.

Last week, while perusing around Costco for New Years stuff, I stumbled upon this giant crate of Martinelli's sparkling Cider.  I don't think I've seen this much Martinelli in one place, and my first thought was, "Only in Utah."  This drink is definitely the special occasion drink of choice around these parts.

And then memories of visiting Costco many times in Visalia and Oxnard CA came to mind.  Since moving to Utah over a decade ago, and adjusting to life in this new state--and it is an adjustment, even though I'm LDS aka Mormon--I seem now to always forget Costco has wine aisles in other states.  They don't here.  You can't by wine or alcohol at all, and at typical grocery stores it's nearly the same.  The alcohol is found in the soda section.

The same startled remembrance would also happen all those times I would shop at Albertsons and Vons in Ventura while visiting my grandpa before he sold his home.  (Man, I'm kinda going through withdrawals.  I miss those visits.  Totally took it all for granted.)  But it was always weird walking around California grocery stores and coming upon the wine section.  The things we forget.

You know what's weird!!!???  This Summer I will have lived in Utah for 15 years.  It doesn't seem possible.  I lived in Porterville for 14 years, Kindergarten through my first year at College (PC & COS), and before then Southern California, totaling 19 years in the state.

So Happy New Years everyone!

I hope you haven't given up on any New Years Resolutions.  I'm only just starting mine.  Last night Highland dance stated again, and I have three classes next week.  And this weekend I'm revamping my "diet," and I put the quotations around diet because I need a way of life, not a temporary system.  So this weekend I'm going to clean out the fridge, evaluate the extended pantry, look through cookbooks, and go grocery shopping.  It will be quite the project, but it will be good.

Here's to a great year!  It will be interesting.

Surviving Black Friday

When I woke up this morning I was determined not to have anything to do with Black Friday.  It's this crazy thing we have here in the States, and it takes place the day after Thanksgiving.  It represents the start of the Christmas buying season, and all these stores offer crazy deals and sales.

Yesterday my Mom, brothers and I got back from our trip in California, and our Dad prepared an amazing Thanksgiving feast.  It was incredible, but after a long trip, and a long drive home, going out shopping wasn't appealing to say the least.  Then my Mom and I had to return the rental van, and on the way home my Mom decided that she wanted to get into the black Friday spirit.  That was around 9:00 am this morning, 11:00 pm and we just got back!

It was super fun, to say the least, and it's cool being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of shopping frenzies.  We started out at Target, where we got a free bag of samples and coupons, then went to the movies with my brothers to the the Life of Pi (review coming tomorrow).  Then off to Costco we went where they were handing out cookbooks.  The Mall was the last place we went, and it was crowded.  Somehow two-hours disappeared at Bath and Body works.  I'm still trying to figure out how that happened.  Weird.  I smell good, though. 

Crazy day!  Glad it's over.  Hope your black Fridays were fun and eventful.