Adventures in Grocery Shopping

I hate to shop for groceries, but I love to eat, and the Chromos get cranky when the cupboards are bare. Go figure. And because TV Stevie and I had each been on our own for a long time before we met, we developed habits. Eating styles. Must-have foods.

TV grew up with a mom who didn't cook much. There was a lot of deli-to-go in his life. Potato chips. Soft drinks. Macaroni salad is his comfort food.

I grew up in a home where my mom was a full-time home maker. There were chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven on the table as soon as we got off the school bus every afternoon. There wasn't a lot of money for things like chips or soft drinks, so those were considered treats. Macaroni and cheese is my comfort food.

When TV is stressed, he eats potato chips. For me, the best stress-reliever is ice cream.

When we were first married, TV didn't like the way I grocery shopped . . . I wouldn't buy chips, soft drinks, or even my ice cream. We were on a budget. According to him, I never look at the price of anything, but how dare I buy Store Brand cream cheese and ketchup? And what did I mean, buy your own tomatoes? Hey. I don't eat tomatoes, what do I know about picking out the best tomato. Ditto oranges. It's scary watching him fondle every orange in the produce department.

So we started shopping together. Except when the Chromos were newborns. Then I'd give him a detailed list, complete with labels from jars of pasta sauce. That worked out okay. Not the best solution, but okay.

Once the Chromos started religious education on Sunday mornings, grocery shopping life became simpler. I write two grocery lists: one for TV and one for me. We drop off the children, then hit the supermarket, where we divide and conquer, meeting up again at the check outs. It works. Most of the time.

He still complains when I buy ice cream, but I'm not supposed to say anything about the mountains of potato chips in his cart every two weeks. I've finally weaned him off soft drink, but now the fridge is stuffed with various juices and non-carbonated unhealthy stuff (10 percent real juice, 90 percent cancer-causing initials) . . . and there's still no room for my made-from-scratch ice tea.

This past week, we ran into another obsticle: water. Bottled water, to be precise. I had purchased (gasp!) Store Brand water because (gasp!) I looked at the price, and it was a $1 a 6-pack less than National Brand water. WATER, folks. Not cream cheese, not ketchup, WATER. (I know there are those of you who wonder that we buy bottled water at all, but I tried refilling water bottles and it doesn't work. Not at our house. Mostly because people will drink then not refill the bottles or Y-Chromo will drink directly from the water pitcher which is gross and disgusting and so very male that I can't get him to stop without a gender-change operation.) TV insisted that I purchase National Brand water instead of Store Brand. I explained the difference in price. I mean, the Chromos have to eat Store Brand Peanutbutter, Store Brand Salsa, etc. to save money. TV & I should drink Store Brand water. Uh-uh. He feels he can't walk into his place of business with a Store Brand bottle when the store in question doesn't do business with his company.

Okay. I'll buy into that, but only for the water he takes to work. I think he should drink Store Brand when he goes to the gym, etc. Either that or we stop buying Store Brand altogether -- or even change where we spend our food dollars.

What are some of your grocery shopping pet peeves? Or do you actually enjoy shopping?