As far as big chain stores go, I’m against them. Wal-Mart? Forget about it! I’d rather pay a few bucks more and shop somewhere else. However, Target is my only exception. I used to shop there all the time. Need to pick up undies, some CD’s and a gallon of milk? Hooray for Target! You’ve got my back … thanks I appreciate it. It’s chic products that are made surprisingly well combined with an atmosphere a gazillion times better than Wal-Mart or the just depressing K-Mart, makes Target one of my favorite places to shop. So, you can understand why I miss Target. The closest Target is either 40 minutes away to the south or to the north. Do I either want to drive into hot annoying Santa Maria or do I want to drive into hot annoying Paso Robles? You see my delima.

So why isn’t there a Target closer? You see I live in a small community where big chain stores are protested against and voted upon. We finally got a Cosco and Home Depot a few years ago – those are even about 20 miles away (in San Luis Opisbo). Nothing will ever be built in Los Osos, not ever a sewer system! Target has been considered a possibility in the future for SLO. Good ‘ole measure ‘J’ passed, so eventually a Target might be built. Local officials are still debating an off ramp that will accommodate all the people like me dying to shop at Target.

Now, I realize this isn’t the prairie. I can shop at other stores for life’s quintessential items. However, this requires more driving and subsequently more aggravation. Who needs that? Not me.

Hubby & I are considering purchasing another accessible vehicle. Right now we have an accessible Honda Element and a regular Toyota Prius with hand controls which I drive. But, It’s kind of a pain in the ass to load both of our chairs into the Prius whenever we want to drive together, thus we are considering buying an accessible Chrysler PT Cruiser. We would get the PT Rider one, so I could drive from the “regular” seat and dismantle my chair and hubby could stay in his chair and tie down on the passenger side. I’d hate to sell my Prius (not only will I miss getting 40+ miles per gallon, I will also hate having an American Car).

Maybe I’ve been brainwashed, but to me American cars are unreliable and gas guzzlers. I would never ever think of purchasing an American car. Our Honda Element will get about the same gas millage as the PT Cruiser (a much smaller car) that just doesn’t make sense to me. I was looking around on the internet and found that the PT Cruiser can be made into a hybrid car, but I don’t know if that would work will the accessible conversion that we’d have. Meh, I just wish there were more accessible converted vehicles that aren’t mini vans or American made cars. We were so happy when we heard the Element was being converted. Anyway, for the moment we are going to make the Prius and the Element work.

Today I had to buy staples. It’s one item a stapler must have & when you’re out of staples there isn’t much that replaces them easily. You see, I needed staples to put together a series of maps for the bro-in-law’s wedding on Saturday for the in-laws. It’s not a very complicated map, Bakersfield isn’t that big and the route from the church to the reception is down one street and a right hand turn. Anyway, back to staples. I tried to use those binder clip things, but they were too large & I couldn’t locate my massive amount of paperclips. Thus, staples were needed & off to Staples I went.

You’d think at a places called ‘Staples’ they’d have a large selection of staples. Not so. They have like one variey in different sized amounts. Surrounded by staplers and staples I couldn’t help doing an imitation of the guy from ‘Office Space’ who loved his Red Swingline Stapler (see below for a youtube clip). Anyway, I went for the tinest amount of staples and also found a container of orange slices on my way to the register.

So here I sit, afternoon cup of tea beside me an an orange slice. I’m actually glad I didn’t have any staples…yum…orangey goodness.

I’m all for organic products, the less pesticides we have in our food the better, but … dish-washing liquid?

I was at Trader Joe’s the other day and realized I needed dish-washing liquid for my dishwasher. The only one I could find was an organic one so I had get it. When I got home I opened it up and it smelled like feet. But I didn’t want to go to Ralph’s to get some Cascade so I was stuck with the foul feet smelling liquid. Then I did a load of dishes. The coffee mugs started to become stained and bits of food were still left on bowls. Unlike the rest of you, I blamed my clunky dishwasher not the feet smelling liquid. Why? Because hubby & I just moved and this was the fist time I had used the dishwasher. Oh the timing.

For the next couple of weeks I did dishes with this organic smelly product all the while cursing my loud and clunky dishwasher. Then I was at Ralph’s the other day and picked up some Cascade (actually the Ralph’s brand) to see if this would help clean my poor dishes. So I did another load of dishes, and you know what? Sparkling dishes appeared the next morning from my clunky dishwasher!

Thank goodness for active ingredients and chemicals.

So Quaker has come out with a new “breakfast” product – the Breakfast Cookie. It’s not just oatmeal for Quaker, now they have cookies we can actually eat in the morning and boy are they yummy. It’s funny to be consuming something with the word ‘cookie’ in it at 8:00 in the morning, but I think the ‘breakfast’ in the title allows us to eat such things. At least, that’s my reasoning. I’m especially fond of the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip variety, because let’s face it, there’s chocolate chips in it! Chocolate chips in the morning! Good god man, what is the world coming to!

Quaker actually had another product I was quite fond of in the morning called the ‘Breakfast Square’. Now, that doesn’t sound as appetising as ‘Breakfast Cookie’ but they were quite good. You could microwave them and they were a great treat with an afternoon cup of tea. But now they’re gone and I’ve become quite enamored with the Breakfast Cookie – all hail rolled oats with chocolate chips! Thanks Quaker for giving me that much needed sugar high in the morning.

Another morning treat for me as been 1% milk. I know most of you are thinking what’s the big deal? But for me and my years of consuming fat free milk, 1% tastes like cream & damn if it doesn’t make my frosted mini wheat cereal taste extra good. This 1% milk drinking actually started with 2%. Whoa, 2%! You see, I bought 2% the other day thinking it was fat free (both gallons had bluish labels and I wasn’t paying attention). So, I had to drink the 2% and that just reminded me of how great milk can actually taste. So after finishing the 2% I consciously opted to purchase 1% the next time at the store. And that’s why there’s a half gallon of 1% in my fridge right now just waiting for a breakfast cookie to be dunked in it.

Oh marvelous Splenda! How I adore you! You sweeten my tea and give me that ever so needed afternoon sugar high. If only I had a packet this afternoon. You see I could have easily had my wonderful splenda with the tea I’m drinking, however my brain wasn’t apparently functioning at the grocery store this afternoon. I was in the tea isle and the baking isle – but did I remember to get splenda? No! Damn it.

It’s funny how Splenda has become so cult like. Remember when it was a choice between blue or pink. Now they’ve thrown in yellow and we’re drawn to it like moths to a flame (a sweet flame). Maybe it’s their slogan “made from sugar so it tastes like sugar”. And no, I didn’t have to look that up – ah, the powers of brainwashing and the media. I feel bad for equal and sweet & low. They even sued Splenda. I read somewhere that their sales combined equal (no pun intended) that of just splenda. Wow. Good for them and their tiny yellow sweet packet. Man, I wish I had one right now.