Can I Hear A Hallelujah?

Well Thanksgiving is getting closer each day. My preparations are in full swing. I'M ABOUT TO EXPLODE WITH JOY!

For the last couple of paychecks, I've been stocking up on certain items necessary for my big family Thanksgiving extravaganza - you know, stuff that will go in the freezer or in the pantry. I didn't want to have a heart attack at the last minute with an enormous grocery bill that threatened to put me in the hospital.

So for the last two weeks I've been composing my final grocery push. Took up a freaking entire page. I estimated about how much I should spend just so I was mentally prepared.

After taking my son down to see his dad for the weekend, I decided to go ahead and get the grocery shopping done tonight instead of tomorrow to avoid trying to maneuver an overstuffed cart through the maze that is Wal-mart. Saturday shopping is stressful enough without throwing that into the mix.

I was a little concerned about any freezer items. After the last grocery trip there wasn't an inch to spare in my freezer. We've been trying to eat as much chicken and steak as humanly possible the last two weeks in order to free up a little space. Looking into my cart tonight had me a little worried. I need that new extra fridge/freezer yesterday.

The loaves of bread kept falling off the piled up cart in my final run to the registers. Really needed my son around to help pull while I pushed. Somehow I managed. Think there were a few snickers as I lumbered along - the jerks!

Unloading onto the treadmill took about thirty minutes - well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but the poor cashier was trying to find floor space to put the full bags before I even had my cart emptied at the other end.

I dreaded the total, but thought I just had to be pretty close to my estimate. When I shop, I have a tendency to keep a mental calculation going in my head of the approximate amount I'm spending. Hey, after all these years I can almost determine based upon how full my cart is and how many above average items I throw in.

To my delight the total came to $9.20 less than I had anticipated. Didn't blow my budget. I'm not skimping on anything either. We're going to be eating GOOD!

Can I hear a hallelujah?