Getting High...My Sensationalistic Way of Getting Your Attention

If you have been keeping up with updates on my Mary-Mom's battle with cancer, please click here for an update.
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So I get a high by being efficient.

Whether it's planning a shopping route with Mapquest, or timing the events of my day, or coming up with a menu plan, I see myself on the top of my game, and I smoke a figurative cigar in celebration.

My latest victory?  Making ten Smoothie Kits with Danielle with fruit I found on the 'Bout to Turn aisle at Fresh and Easy.  Anyone who knows Fresh and Easy, knows the 'Bout to Turn aisle.  It's where they stock and sell, at a discounted rate, the meats, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products that will be past its expiration date tomorrow, or the next day.  It's food that is, mas o menos, good still.  It's just uber-cheap.  It makes me giddy.

Some people (my sister Misti) can tell you the time their Fresh and Easy stocks this area.  I'm not that organized, but the love for surprises part of my duel-sided self thrives in the not knowing whether it will be a moment of surplus, or a moment of nothing more than a couple rusty heads of lettuce.  A few weeks ago, I came upon steaks (can't remember the cut) for 50% off!  That was a happy BBQ night.

I can't help it.  I watch the Ross commercials, where they compare the two shoppers--the one who shopped at the "other store," and only bought the one outfit, and then the smart Ross patron, who bought the same outfit, plus another complete outfit, a purse, two pairs of shoes, and a candy bar for the same price. I get goosebumps and fist-pump the Ross lady, while sneering a whispered sucka! to the other one.

Maybe it really is the little things that keep me going. It doesn't seem to take much. Things like Mapquesting my day, with all of my drop-offs and pick-ups, and making sure I don't double back more than I have to.  These types of things put me to bed with a smile on my face.

So, not only did Danielle and I streamline our smoothie operation by pre-making our Smoothie Kits, but we also brought the cost per smoothie in at just over $1 each.  That's crazy-cheap.  And each $1 Smoothie Kit makes enough smoothies for 4-6 people per day for 10 days.  It's a great start to the day, and a great meal after a (sigh) workout.

Hugo and I run a tight ship.  That's really a nice way of saying that we're cheap.  Tight.  But, we like to spend money, and we want it to spend it on other things.  With a family of 7, we have to think on our feet, if we want to stay out of the Poor House.  These kids can bleed us dry, and what they don't suck out of the bank account, Hugo and I are more than capable of finishing off with nary a bead of sweat.

So, I make it stretch.  I plan it out.  I think it through.  And I get a high.  And it feeds my slightly higher than normal OCD tendencies.  But hey, if it helps the bottom line...right?  I'll just run with it.  And as I run, I'll Mapquest the route.