Went to Europe for the Weekend.....

Well, I'm back from my mini-vacation. The boys and I went to Virginia for the weekend to see Clay at Fort Lee. The perks of having a clean room is getting an off post pass on Saturdays and Sundays. With little warning of Clay's privilege, the boys and I woke early, packed an overnight bag and made the drive north to Virgina. Let me say it is nice to get in the car and drive for less than 3 1/2 hours and be at your destination and have your arms around your husband, rather than driving 20 hours. For me this is a perk.

So, after the boys and I got past the infamous "Gate Nazi" we were on our way to pick up Clay at his company. Finally after waiting for Clay to finish with formation (another word for organized goofing off) we decided on a whim to go to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg for the day. Which was an awesome decision, because the weather was fantastic, oh and the fact that we had our complementary passes for Busch Gardens thanks to the Here's to the Heroes program.

Clay, Chris, Ayden and I had an amazing time together. The boys were able to ride so much more here, than at SeaWorld back in April. We rode the carousel, a roller coaster, a sky ride from Germany to England and lots more fun. The streets of Italy smelled wonderful and Oktoberfest was fun too. It was fun being away for the day, feeling like we were in several different countries.

The boys had a blast at the Forest of Fun, which was the Sesame Street themed area of the park. We got to see Count's Halloween Show, get our picture made with Big Bird, see Elmo, Cookie Monster and Grover. We're not talking about how we saw Abby Cadabby selling smack in her shop there in the Forest of Fun, but Tiffany was right about her. Remember that post awhile back? Sesame Street Characters and their Unhealthy Habits. The boys had a blast, Clay & I drank overpriced beer while listening to bad music in Germany preformed by mummies, ghosts and Frankenstein.

Overall a great weekend together as a family. Clay even got to witness, first-hand the crazy things his boys do while at dinner. A butter knife fight at Olive Garden on Sunday afternoon was the highlight of the trip or was it when our gsp took us to a mall that had been closed down or possibly the 10 mile turnaround somewhere in the Richmond countryside? However, those leaves were pretty.

It was the first time we'd been together as a family in nearly 20 weeks, since the last time we had drove out to see Clay in Texas. He was excited to have a couple of days to relax, feel somewhat normal and spend time with Chris, Ayden and myself. We're counting down the days until he's able to come home and sit in his recliner and not do anything or have to go anywhere. (even if it's just for a brief visit before heading back to school)

Here's to Going Cold Turkey on Wal*Mart Again....

My name isn't Suzanne, but it'll be awhile before I hear:

"You come back and see us, you hear!"

Last year, before I started this blog, while my husband was in BCT (basic combat training) for the Army for 10 weeks, I decided to do something very hard. I gave up Wal*Mart for 10+ weeks, from September until November of 2009. I didn't step foot into a Wally World and the one time I did with my friend Jen, her son overturned the buggy (shopping cart) and got a nasty bruise. We both left without buying anything. My life was stress-free from all the idiots you typically see there and have to deal with while waiting behind them in line.

So here I am again, avoiding Wal*Mart like the black plague. Why again, you may be asking? Well, I recently read a book called "Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping" by Judith Levine. Let me tell you, I'm so glad I checked this book out from the public library instead of purchasing it. I assumed that this was a book similar in structure to Powell's book "Julie & Julia" where she cooked all the recipes out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. However, this book was not a guide, a story of overcoming shopping or even a how-to for the typical American family living off a combined income of less than $50,000 a year. Yes, I'd love to have two homes, have 3 vehicles, remodel my winter home and give up my caviar while living a simpler lifestyle of "not buying it", like Levine. This book was a sad disappointment for me to read all the way through and I did finish it, somehow hoping it would get better, but it didn't. Ugh. I thought to myself, that this lady has no idea about really having to "do without" or living paycheck to paycheck like most of us in the real world. Now, I admit that my family does live "comfortably" on our annual income. There are times when it's tight and times when I have extra money in my pocket. But, I am aware of necessity over want or need.

So, I decided to venture out on a limb and eliminate shopping at Wal*Mart again. Note: This has nothing to do with the Wal*Mart corporation, I'm still going to Sam's to buy Pull-ups for my son and to get my favorite bottle of wine for special occasions. This is another experiment to curve unnecessary spending.
Last year, during my 10 week sabbatical from the American superstore, I noticed that I bought only what I needed and didn't overstock on toilet paper or anything else that "seemed" like a good buy at the time. I only shopped at my local grocery store or at Target (a 45 minute trip to the closest one in my area, which limited me to shopping there every 2 weeks) for basic items and groceries. It was refreshing and my life felt less chaotic. So, I'm not trying to "not buy anything" for a year, I'm trying to stop depending on Wal*Mart so much. Think about it, you've ran out of soap or a tube of toothpaste, instead of going down the street to the drug store or grocery store, you venture across town to the dreaded supercenter. That $3.50 purchase has just turned into a $54.26 shopping blunder. A 10 pack of tube socks have recently been reduced from $7.50 to $6.95 and you needed to renew your fishing license while you were there after picking up a clearance item for a birthday gift next month, if you remember where you put it and a few other random items. All the while, you forget to get the toothpaste or soap and come home without it.

I know this has happened to me, has it happened to you?

I'm still slowly adjusting to the "less is more" theory of life and try to remember that things only fill up your living space, not your heart. Yes, I can love the orange cotton sheets that I just bought this morning at Target, but like would be a more appropriate word to use. Did I need the orange sheets? Yes and no. I've wanted orange bed sheets since last January when I started redecorating my bedroom and it's nice to have an extra set of sheets clean to put on the bed in case your 3 year old throws up in bed with you. I didn't have to buy them, but I did.

I'm really going to have to cut back my spending in the next few months and this will be the first of many steps. My family will soon be back together again after a long year of being apart (which is a long story of dealing with the "Hurry Up and Wait" challenges within the Army) and we will be doing our first PCS with the Army. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it and part one is doing with out Wal*Mart until the first of the year. Then on January 1, I will be reevaluating my decision and deciding whether or not to forgo shopping there for the entire year of 2011. My only promise during this time, will be to give you (the reader) an alternative outlook on an adventure from the shoes of an average American trying to do the unimaginable.

Today is the end of week 1 of 12 weeks, wish me luck. :D

UPDATE: Current CNN Headline on Twitter

cnnbrk-U.S. apologizes for infecting Guatemalans with STDs in 1940s. http://on.cnn.com/aKYzyE 16 minutes ago via web

That's the news I'm talking about! Shht.

Take a Walk Down the Street with Me...

This past week I've seen two different clips from season 41 of Sesame Street. And I'm unsure of how I exactly feel about what's going on down the street. Katy Perry ended up on the cutting room floor or rather the rest of her outfit. The other clip "TrueMud" has bounced around the web like wildfire and I thought it at the time it was almost genius. But, now I'm wondering if it really was.

I enjoy parodies as much as the next person, but Sesame Street is stretching it with a HBO TV show parody. You really think the same people subscribing to HBO channels still flip to PBS for the occasionally Antiques Roadshow? Much less tune in to Sesame Street for their children to watch? I don't think so. However, there they were: Sookie, Bill, Sam, Maryann, LaFayette, Arlene, Tara and even Sheriff Bud Dearborne puppets on the set following a opening title sequence for TrueMud. (Way dirtier than the opening of TrueBlood)

I'm not being a grouch, but I was raised on the "Street" watching it religiously as a child, but now it doesn't hold a special place in my heart anymore. As a parent to two boys, I've turned my back on where I was raised and my boys don't watch anything on PBS. They've both seen the few Sesame Street DVDs we've got, but nothing that's been produced in the last 8 years. One morning, I was checking FB on my blackberry before getting out of bed (yeah, my desktop is just for pure blogging now) and came across a WONDERFUL memory of Sesame Street. A friend had posted a link on how crayons were made. I watched it and remembered mornings filled with Super Grover and Mr. Hooper's store. Ayden, my youngest had crawled into bed with me and from the tiny 2x3 inch screen on the BB we were engrossed in awe. "Again, I watch crayons again! " Ayden said and we did.

Ahh memories, sweet memories! Where is the Teeny Little Super Guy and the vintage crayon making videos today on Sesame Street? Where's John-John and Grover counting backwards? Where's Snuffy, Bob and the Twiddle Bugs? Is there a Fix-It Shop on Sesame Street anymore or has it been replaced with a Starbucks or Walgreen's like every other street-corner in America?

So, while I loved Sesame Street and the Muppets growing up, I'm wondering the effect of media will have on our children today. Maybe I'm getting old, (shudder the thought) but why are we so focused on celebrities as opposed to world news or things going right here in America, not just the Jersey Shore. Just two days ago, I received a small 2 sentence tweet on Twitter about four Fort Hood Soldiers committing suicide and I had to type in the search box on CNN to pull up the headline, because everyone was more worried over President Jimmy Carter's case of the BG's (bubbleguts). And what is today's headlines? Oh, they're now focused on questioning JonBenet's brother. WTF? This happened in 1996, 14 years ago this Christmas. Now, I do feel bad about her death, but reopening this case won't bring back that little girl. How about focusing on our current situations at hand? Not Kat Perry's cleavage popping out on Sesame Street or Michelle Obama and Nick Jonas teaming up for fitness. Don't bother yourself with childhood obesity Michelle. It's the childhood brainwashing, name-brand icons and celebrities being implanted in their heads we need to worry about. I'm wondering what the world (or America in this case) is coming to.