Ma Vie Folle

Aldi’s ~ My Likes and Dislikes

Posted on June 15, 2010 | 13 Comments

So a few months ago I started shopping at Aldi’s to cut some costs on our grocery budget. After a few weeks I know what to buy and what not to buy, my likes and dislikes in comparison to name brand stuff.

This trip I stuffed 4 green eco-shopping bags and spent $37.00! I calculated that if I bought similar stuff at the regular grocery store it would have been about $67.00

Of course I still do shop at the grocery store for meat, lunch meat and dog food ( I have not found a meat that I have actually LIKED at Aldi’s) …among a few other things…but now I buy all snacks, fruit, veggies and ice cream at Aldi’s.

I did buy deodorant at Aldi’s once but I smelled like a combo of Amish bread and hay. Plus, every time I pulled the lid off it raised the stick….and every time I pushed it on my arm pit it went way down. Way to much work.

The paper plates they sell here are better than any I’ve ever tried but the cleaning products are horrible, it’s like cleaning with tinted water. So it’s a trial and error thing shopping here.

Their produce is always fresh and the snacks are incredibly priced. The last couple weeks I’ve purchased a pound of strawberries for $1.29 and they are big and beautiful. And snacks???? ….For instance…Frosty Delights (similar to Hostess Ding Dongs)…$1.99 for a pack of 12. Now that’s a deal. And they are actually very fresh and good!

Their chocolate bars? I know my chocolate believe me. I’d compare it to Ghirardelli’s. I really would. Very rich and creamy. And 12 ice cream bars with chocolate coating for $1.99? Outrageous! lol. Oh, and the chocolate chip cookies? My kids prefer these to Nabisco! Chips? Good chips! The sour cream/onion could use more flavor but for $1.29 a bag….who cares!. They also sell a VERY comparable corn chip (to Frito’s) and nacho chip (to Dorito’s) at a third of the price (about .99 cents/bag).

(no, this is not a paid post, lol. I just shop there and wanted to give my thoughts.)

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Posted in Just a rant

Oops, I Killed Them Again…
Garden Monday

Posted on June 13, 2010 | 20 Comments

If Britney Spears were ME and had THIS garden…..she’d sing…”Oops I killed them again. ”

This time the gardening hand of death sprayed the zucchinis and cucumbers with Ecosmart Garden insect killer.

Now listen! I followed the directions to a T ! I sprayed them on Wednesday. On Thursday they looked bad. Like they had the flu.

Shane tried to make me feel better and suggested Miracle Grow. *sigh*. “Did you look at the plants? No amount of Miracle Grow is gonna bring them back f r o m the d e a d.” Look at them! They are like crawling and reaching toward the fence like they’re crying….GET ME THE HELL OUT OF THIS WOMAN’S GARDEN!

Well, he put it on anyways. Didn’t help. This is what my precious little plants looked like on Friday. GOOD GRIEF!

First planting in May?…dead. Second planting 2 weeks ago? Dead. So hopefully three times will be a charm. And THIS time, I’m not doing anything but watering them.

Anyhow, this is how my new NOT DEAD plants looked and a few pics of the rest of the garden this week. I’m not totally sure, but I *think* I was supposed to plant less onions in one spot.

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Posted in gardening

Driving Ms. Crazy

Posted on June 10, 2010 | 20 Comments

Here we go! …My stomach twisted, in knots. With each turn, each bend my heart races with a mixture of fear and excitement. Gripping the handbar tightly with pale ashen hands. Heavy breath and palpitations as the fear sucks the wind from me. Insane as it sounds, I know the fear must be conquered. And so as this roller coaster comes to a sudden and complete stop….I know I must remain. “Okay…let’s try it again. Turn left”.

So…it’s that time of life again. Another kid learning to drive. This one is my last, my baby.

If you’ve been following along you know that I train my kids to drive in the cemetery. For obvious reasons…the first being everyone is already dead. But this post explains it better.

So it seems I have key phrases when my kids are learning to drive. Kaylee had, “B r a k e….break….. BRAKKKKKKKE!”; MC had, “Stay in your lane….drive faster…stay in your lane!” and it appears Alan will be, “Slowwwer….Slow down for God’s sake!”

Yes…no need for a colon cleanse…just make sure you have your children a year or two apart and when you teach them how to drive…it’s like a natural cleansing…that lasts for years.

And, btw…in that pic to the left…that is him standing in front of his baby picture.

So here is the first pic of him behind the wheel. Actually driving. I probably should have been actually paying attention to the road, but I was thinking of all of you….my dear readers… and therefore grabbed the camera.

After the initial shock set in from some quick stops and quick starts…. (and realizing I hadn’t actually given him any instructions at all) reality set in and it once again dawned on me that yes…I have in fact put my life in the hands of another 15 1/2 year old. Groovy.

We approach another ‘street’. Hmmmm. “Garden of SERENITY…my ass”, I think to myself.

I also remembered that kids learning to drive have NOT developed their ability to use peripheral vision while looking straight ahead. As evident when yelling ‘watch out for that squirrel!!’ and hearing the response of “where?… “ followed 3 seconds later with “OMG right in front of me!” *screeeech*

But the squirrels made it out alive….and I’m pretty sure that a couple actually remembered our Jeep. They looked at us…squinted….I could see the little tiny light bulb going off in their heads …their little eyes bulged out and they ran in the other direction. I also saw a few squirrel mommies grabbing their babies and giving me a disapproving look.

All and all it was a good first drive and I got to scope out some graves. Which, if you knew me is like heaven to me. I just love cemeteries.
*If you have an Ohio teen driver, enter my giveaway here (til June 13, ’10)