It's been no secret around here that work has been crazy busy, trying, and filled with some seriously looooong hours lately. Sometimes I handle it well, and sometimes I feel like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown because I have so many things I want to do, but many nights for the last few months I've had maybe two or three (or four at the most) hours at home after work before I have to go to bed, and there seems to be an endless parade of laundry to be folded, dishes to be washed, and cat fur to be vacuumed. I know that this hiccup in my schedule will eventually pass, but, man, I miss scrapping a lot! It seems I only get to do it in fits and starts these days, with maybe a few hours on the weekends if I'm lucky.
Tonight was one of those nights that could have easily sent me over the edge. You see, I'd planned on cooking salmon for dinner in my new oven, but I soon discovered that I was out of aluminum foil (how that happened I really don't know). Foil is totally necessary to our way of cooking salmon and vegetables, so I debated for a few minutes as to whether to totally throw in the towel and pick up takeout at a nearby restaraunt, or drive to Target (about 10 minutes away) to get foil and a few other grocery items.
Target and my desire to not eat takeout won, so off we went (Darren, who had just finished hooking up the gas line in the kitchen, graciously offered to accompany me).
I was armed with a few coupons that were printed at the register on my last few visits, so in addition to foil we bought eggs, cheese, yogurt, oranges, and a few other odds and ends. Oh, and blueberry smoothies, because I seem to survive on them and protein bars when I'm working in the lab. We also ended up with a pair of shorts for Darren because they were on sale and I had a coupon.
Somewhere during the strolls down the aisles I started stressing about how this unexpected trip to the grocery store was throwing off my schedule for the entire evening, and how I still had to go home and cook salmon for dinner, and how unfair it all was (that last bit is me being really whiny, I know)...and then I saw it in my little fistful of papers- a coupon for 50 cents off any Target deli item. It was a totally zen moment during which I realized that I wouldn't have to cook dinner after all. And so a rotisserie chicken also made it into our cart for dinner.
And $90 later we were home with our aluminum foil.
So, that's the story of how I just rolled with it tonight, of how I have a brand new stove in my kitchen and still haven't cooked on it, and how I managed to find about 45 extra minutes between putting away the groceries and folding the laundry during which I just might be able to scrapbook for a while.
And life is good. :)