Puppy toilet paper

Sunday, while putting up stuff from my store run, I plunked a package of Cottonelle toilet paper on the counter in the girls' bathroom. Later, when Jenna went in there to "do her business," I heard, "Mom! This stuff is for dogs!" Because there's a dog on the package, she thought we had been using toilet paper for dogs. You never know -- there could be a market for that. I do remember that when I was growing up, my dog didn't need toilet paper. Because we had carpet. Ewww.

The toilet paper was part of this week's adventure with The Grocery Game. This was my best week so far. I was thinking back to my pre-Grocery Game couponing days. I would cut coupons every Sunday and save a couple of bucks a week. Which I thought wasn't so bad, because if you add that up over the course of a year, that would come out to just over a hundred dollars. Well, I'm never going back to that way of couponing again. At Walgreens this past Sunday, I paid $7 for about $50 worth of stuff. Which is pretty easy when you're paying 50 cents for a package of razors that normally cost $8.29. Or getting free teabags that usually cost $3.29. (However, my gleeful shopping experience at Walgreens was marred Sunday when Jenna pulled down a display of skin care stuff right by the checkout. Luckily, the GLASS SHELF that slid to the floor and landed on her feet didn't shatter. The Walgreens people felt really bad and said the shelf wasn't balanced right. Aside from being scared half out of her mind, Jenna was fine.)

Then on to Kroger, where my original total was $116. After all the coupons, it was $71. So for less than $90 for the week, I was able to get everything we needed plus some stuff for my stockpile, which is growing. We're going to have to donate some of our bars of soap because we really have a ridiculous amount right now. But I keep getting it so cheap!

And yes, I voted today. We made it a family event. Chad held our place in line while the girls and I went on a doughnut run. I wanted to make sure Julia was standing next to me while I voted so she could witness something that wasn't even close to happening 100 years ago. 1) A woman voting, and 2) a woman voting for either a black presidential candidate or a female vice presidential candidate. (So HA! You still don't know who I voted for.) Just thinking about all the sacrifices that were made by so many people through history so I could do that today is mind-boggling. Julia's already saying she can't wait to turn 18 so she can vote. Pretty cool, huh?

I've been getting quite a bit of ink lately. You can go here to read my Arkansas Life (Nov.)article about specialty food shops in Arkansas, and here to see my feature on the historic Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs (Oct.) I'm also writing for the next two issues of Arkansas Life, and hopefully beyond.


And at your local Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Hastings or other major national book retailer, you'll find my byline on p. 72 of Success for Women (look for Maria Shriver). I'm also working on several things for the next issue of ACU Today. So if you're ever wondering what I do while my kids are in school, there's your answer. (Although I've also been known to fold laundry while watching The Hills.)