Making my list..

Now that the kids are in school all day, I find myself making more list. Grocery list comes to mind lately. I'm lucky that John likes grocery shopping..impossible! But it's true, for the most part, he's much better at it than me & definitely sticks with the list & in budget. But move over...I'm stepping up to the grocery shopping task! Making my list & checking it twice.

Thursday's are the day I've chosen, so today I make the list. I will stay under budget, I will stay under budget, I will stick to the list, list, list, list!! This is my mantra as I prepare for this chore, most moms probably have been doing for years. But this is oh so new & stressful for me. Something about the lights, the aisles, the coupons almost always brings on a panic stricken, cart dumping, manic me..speed walking to the nearest exit. BUT, I have confidence I can survive this weekly adventure.

One thing I am most excited about is having more of a menu each week..not so much a daily meal must, but more like a list of possible dinners I can pull together when the time rolls around each day. The pantry will be full of what I need, & then I'll go from there. My favorite birthday gift this year is Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook, "my father's daughter." It's become my list inspiration for the grocery shopping that's looming. I'm getting a lot of our dinner ideas from her book. it's very vegetarian friendly & full of healthy meals. The salad section is my favorite & tomatoes are finally in season!! Yippee:) She has a slow-roasted tomato recipe that I sped up this weekend..not having the 4-5 hours to cook the tomatoes, but they were yummy to top off a pasta dish.