If looks could kill...

As part of the moving in process we've had to do a fair amount of shopping recently. For any of you who know me you know that I don't like to go shopping when there are a lot of people around. And in the last year or so in MA I had pretty much turned over the grocery shopping to my daughter because I also don't like grocery stores.

I especially stay very, very far away from the MALL during the holiday shopping season, back to school shopping season, Presidents Day sales shopping events, Valentines get your loved one some of these shopping events, and any of the other just come and buy more stuff cuz we want your money shopping events. Which pretty much leaves me to shopping just after Ground Hog day and before Columbus Day - oh no - that's right they made that a Monday holiday - so it's now also a shopping event - scratch that... I'm left with Ground Hog Day.

So imagine how much fun I'm having shopping between Christmas and New Years!!

The day after we move in here my husband suggests that I go to the grocery store and he'd move all the furniture into place... NOPE - ain't happening - I'm not going by myself to get all the fixins for Christmas dinner. So we went together and hit a few other places as well - but as the parking lots filled - I was ready to go home and unpack boxes.

Christmas came and went and we hit the stores again to satisfy our growing list of "I need and gotta haves". On Sunday we hit Circuit City, Bed Bath and Beyond, Ikea, and Costco (which was the last time I go there on the weekend!). On Monday we headed off to Target, back to Circuit City for an exchange, to the pet store for some much needed dog food and to hit the super sized 'upscale' grocery store in the same plaza.

I knew from the parking lot in front of the grocery store that I didn't want to be there - and when I walked in and saw that they had a bazillion registers and most of them were open... I was positive I wasn't gonna have fun shopping in this new place - at this time. At that very moment I knew I was the closest I had ever been to having a panic attack. It was about 3:00 PM on New Years Eve and everyone and their cousin was shopping in that store.

This place has it ALL - coffee shop, places to eat, bakery, olive bar?... oh and they even have groceries. We had a limited list (thank goodness) and we went about trying to navigate our way through and find the aisles we needed. Did I say the place was PACKED - well it was. And I was working on my last little bit of self control to find my way though. So imagine my surprise when I realized people on a regular basis were leaving their shopping carts SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AISLE and waltzing WAY over there to get this that or the other. I amused myself looking around the first time or two - but I'm a pretty quick study and soon realized that this is the way these folks shop. Yeah, it's crowded but there were better places to park a cart like all the way over to one side or over by a display... but NO these folks were just leaving the carts WILLY NILLY in the middle of the aisle and not making any effort to not be in the way!

OK - I already want to leave and now these inconsiderate ninny's are slowing me down... NOPE that ain't happening to me! I just started MOVING THOSE CARTS ON UP OUTTA THE WAY so I could get through and on I went on my mission to escape - ummm finish my shopping.
I never even commented on it to my husband - I couldn't talk - I just had to get out. It wasn't until the next day that I mentioned how folks just left their carts around in every ones way... my husband says "yeah - you should have eyes in the back of your head to see the looks you got when you moved those carts!" LOL

My sister says that this is the norm around here... REALLY?? I don't think I'll find that acceptable. I might just find shopping FUN again... yeah!

My poor husband is gonna get a call one day at work to be told that I just DROPPED OVER DEAD in the middle of the grocery store... because if looks could kill... it could happen. So please send him a really pretty sympathy card... it will make him feel better I'm sure. Oh and please move your cart over to the side if you are gonna walk away from it...