This Week: Grocery shopping

Morning!

Why is it so boring going to the grocery store?
I don’t get it.
IT is the most boring task of the entire week, for me.*
Sometimes just the thought of going food shopping tires me. As soon as I think about it, I just want to crawl underneath a blanket and go to sleep.
I don’t understand since it is nice to have a well stocked fridge and a well stocked pantry.
Hey, it is not even boring to cook food. But the actual task of driving to the grocery store, grabbing a cart, start collecting the things off the list, pay for it, drag it to the car, drive home, schlep all of it inside, and then UNPACK it. ICK!!
The unpack-part is the worst part!
Oh dear, how incredibly boring it is.
It is nice once it is done, though.
I am trying to get all my grocery shopping done in one visit once a week.

Sometimes, maybe once a month, I go to Costco (big ware-house store) to stock up. Costco is not a super boring place, per se. It is actually kind of fun walking around there. The food, the produce and the merchandise is all top notch. But, you buy everything in bulk, and therefore it can be kind of hard to store it all inside your house.

My regular grocery store is the local Safeway. I like the store, I know the store like my own pocket, I like the staff. Safeway in South Lakes is “my” store.
It is a regular food store in the same line as Giant, Harris Teeter and Bloom’s. I rarely shop at either of the other “main stream“ stores, except for Harris Teeter.

In Reston, we also have a beautiful Whole Foods, and I shop there every once in a while. But not often. Whole Foods is very expensive, and sometimes I don’t even think they are all that up to par, to tell you the truth.
We also have a Trader Joe’s here. To shop there is actually fun, but you cannot get all you need there. Just like Whole Food’s, they specialize in organic foods.

The most beautiful grocery store in our area is Wegmans. . Wegmans is the KING of stores; big, beautiful and they have “it all”!
They have a humongous market-place where you can get (extremely) good bread , they have a huge deli, cheeses from all over the world. You name it, Wegman’s got it all!
They also have a huge organic section, almost as big as a regular store. They have a wine cellar and they also have all the regular stuff that you can find anywhere in any “main stream” store.
PLUS, as I said, IT is BEAUTIFUL!! The first time I entered Wegmans I choked up. Yes, I did. I could not for my life understand how a grocery store could be THAT stunning looking.
It is not that expensive either.
I would shop there all the time, but the store is not located in Reston. And, as soon as a store is a little “harder” to get to it makes it more of a “chore” getting there.
I have two Wegman’s stores to pick from. Both are about 20 minutes away by car.

The great thing with American food stores is that you have a lot of places under one roof. You’ll find a pharmacy there, so when you need medications filled you simply drop them off while you’re shopping. I am loving that. Oh, and the pharmacists will give you the flu shots, for both the regular flu and for the swine flu. I am so glad I did not get either of those shots this year. What the hell happened to the hyped swine flu? Sometimes I get soooo tired…**

You can also buy wine and beer in the grocery store, and yes, we do like that!
Many stores also have huge flowers shops, and dry cleaning services. Some Safeway’s in the area have an in house Starbucks. Sip a latte while you shop.

Anyway, I am glad the most boring task is done for the week.

What is your least favorite household task?

* No, I am taking that back. It is more boring to clean bathrooms and kitchens, so never mind...

** Of course I might end up eating my words. Swine flu might hit me, or something...
(knock on wood)