Anyway, my first trip back to the grocery store gave me a little insight into those people who hoard. I couldn't believe all the FOOD. Everywhere! I had forgotten how much food was available in how many varieties, and most of it in convenience packages. Wow.
I just went from one aisle to the other stocking up my cart. I was like a kid in a candy store. It's a good thing no one was with me, they would have been really embarrassed. I think I might even have hugged a couple of boxes of Eggos.......
By the time I had finished with the grocery store and Costco my van was packed, and I mean PACKED! When I got home I realized just how small my fridge is :) I could barely shut the door, and that is when it occurred to me I could easily become a food hoarder if I'm not careful. I now have this overwhelming desire to stock up on fresh foods, as if tomorrow I won't be able to get it. I think I bought enough cheese, fruits, eggs, yogurts, and vegetables to feed the US army for at least 2 weeks.
So I decided to look up the definition of hoarder and guess what? It's too late - I already AM a hoarder! LOL
HOARD:
–noun
1. A supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use, etc.
–verb
2. To accumulate for preservation, future use, etc., in a hidden or carefully guarded place: to hoard food during a shortage.
So I've decided to just embrace that side of myself and try to hoard in moderation :)
One thing living off food storage has done for us is give us an appetite for whole, fresh foods. I think we have eaten pretty much nothing but fresh fruits, veggies, and dairy since we quit food storage. One of our first meals was a huge fruit salad and twice baked potatoes. My 4 year, who doesn't quite get that we aren't on food storage anymore, takes one bite and says, "Now this is a great 'whesipie' mom!" So cute - he couldn't even quite pronounce the word recipe.
Other good news, I've been finding the pieces to build a cheese press and found the PERFECT cutting board for the base at Wal-mart (I have a real love/hate relationship with that store). It's perfect because you can see it has a drain off one side which you need as you squeeze the whey out of the curds. I have to order a couple of parts this week and then put my husband to work on it.
Speaking of my husband, he decided this week that rather than pay $269 for a brake job on my van, he would just do it himself. No big deal since he usually changes our brakes. However, this van is new and it took him much longer than he anticipated. He didn't finish until 10pm and he was really tired when he was finally ready to take the van out for a test run.
Well, he forgot to pump the brakes first so the brakes didn't work at all, and he crashed my van right into the back of his brand new truck. Major body damage to both our vehicles. I was just laughing so hard!(although he didn't think it was very funny).
Now, I'm not saying this is his comeuppance for making us quit food storage but............ :)