Rainy day Cheerios

This blog entry may become distracted and discombobulated. I apologize first off for that, but it's a rainy holiday and I worked the last four days in a row and we'll also blame my iron counts.

Run on sentence. Oh well.

 I also apologize for the lack of photos. I have some on the laptop so as soon as i can get to an Internet connection I'll add them. Many entries lately will still lack photos as I've been so anxious to eat that I haven't stopped to photograph. Forgive me.

 First, breakfast. Husband slept until 9:30, so we opted for cereal for breakfast since lunch is a mere two hours away. I had generic cheerios with Very Vanilla Silk soy milk. The combo jazzed up the Cheerios just enough. Daughter had generic fruit loops and the vanilla soy milk (way too sweet for me) and husband had a mix of fruit loops and Cheerios and also mixed vanilla and regular soy milk.

 Next rant, Totally Target: www.totallytarget.com. This blogger is so serious about Target that she invested in a domain name. That's dedication. She uses the weekly ad, clearance items, price cuts and coupons to "get more red for your green." I don't use many coupons, in part because many are online now and it's unusual for me to have access to the Internet and a printer at the same time. She does a fabulous job scouring Target. She knows the store better than I do, and I work there.

But every time I see these obsessive couponing folks, especially the ones you hear about on reality TV shows, I question the value. Items like Velveeta Shells and Cheese, Glade plug-ins, and Trident gum. 90% of the products I see I do not and would not use. Now in the Target case, I did see Market Pantry sauce and dry pasta, which I would consider, and Seventh Generation products. I rarely buy cleaning chemicals, preferring vinegar, baking soda, 90% alcohol and hot water.

So, why would I feed my child overprocessed food like Velveeta shells just because it's cheap? I love her more than that. Besides, if I'm going to use insta-Mac and cheese the Aldi stuff is even cheaper than all those coupons. And I do use processed foods from time to time, I just add lots of vegetables. Many products I see don't make sense to me: cheese made of oil, dinners with ingredients I can't read, fresh fruit sliced so you don't have to cut it, Oscar Meyers lunchables (all those chemicals for mere meat, cheese and crackers), premade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Maybe we're busy, maybe we're lazy but I believe food is pivotal to life, central to our family relationships and that the dinner table is sacred. But that's just me.