Snowmageddon Part 1: The Grocery Store Rush

I thought it was a "North Carolina thing." As soon as the mention of snow or frozen precipitation creeps into the forecast, parents and kids across the state rush to the local grocery store to stock up on the essentials- milk, bottled water, tp, eggs, bread and beer. I learned yesterday that this is apparently a D.C. thing too. I made it to the Van Ness Giant by about 3:30 p.m. thinking I would beat much of the rush. I was wrong. I snagged the last grocery cart in sight and embarked on a mission to navigate the tiny aisles packed with fellow shoppers trying to beat the after-work madness.

Yes, I made it out alive with everything on my list, including beer, wine and ingredients for my Super Bowl recipes. But I did realize that D.C. is not, in fact, a true northern city (as my northern friends will attest to). Granted, my hometown might enforce a mandatory evacuation if two feet of snow was forecast, but D.C. is apparently not free of snow storm overreaction.

Now it's time to hunker down. Well, when I get off work that is. One difference between D.C. and N.C. is that some offices in D.C. do stay open when a major snow is in the forecast. Sigh.

Online "Window" Shopping

I've become a sortof online shopping addict recently thanks to the abundance of free time I find myself with at work and the convenience of sitting in front of a computer for seven hours a day. I guess it started around Christmas when I realized I had only one free weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas to shop. So naturally, online shopping was the way to go, especially since I could just have my selections shipped to N.C. ready for me to attack them with my incredible wrapping skills.

Of course, after Christmas I moved on to shopping the after-Christmas sales to satisfy my own personal wish list. My addiction has even extended to Redbox as I find myself now reserving and paying for my movies online rather than in the store (this is actually a great idea for frequent Redbox users who are oblivious to the line that begins to wind its way through the front of the grocery store as they contemplate whether to rent District 9 or The Proposal).

Now I've found myself filling up various virtual shopping bags and periodically looking at them throughout the day to decide if I really do need them. Ultimately, I decided today that those two pair of Old Navy workout pants will not make me more motivated to go to the gym...tomorrow I may feel differently.

As long as I don't follow through with these purchases I see no harm in my new addiction. But I think I may start leaving my debit card at home in the morning.