the post where i use too many parenthetical (except really, can you use too many?)

besides the people (who i miss dearly), there's not a lot that i miss about utah vs. where we live now (although, can this seasoned seattlite admit that she's starting to miss the sun?).

except for winco.

i feel like i have to go to three different stores to get what i want here (not fun with three kids) and it costs way more (especially bulk foods) to buy everything i need.

after a frustrating shopping day last week, i jokingly got onto google to see where the closest winco was (i was thinking maybe somewhere in eastern washington. maybe). it turns out that there are a few in the seattle area, including one in everett, which is about twenty-five minutes away from us. and there is a costco right next to it (google maps estimated 51 secs). so, i decided that even though it is a little ridiculous to drive twenty-five minutes to go to a grocery store, i didn't care. i wanted to go to winco that bad.

and i have to admit, it was as wonderful as i had imagined it would be. i walked in and it was just like the orem, utah winco (except the food storage aisle was a wine aisle instead). one of the things i've been frustrated with is that it takes me twice as long to go grocery shopping because i am constantly backtracking to find things that i missed (not that i wouldn't get to know my local safeway eventually, but in the meantime, it's a pain). and did i mention that everything is so much cheaper there? 

to justify the whole thing, i decided to plan out my entire month of meals (which is nice to have done, anyway), make a list of all of the non-perishables, and buy for the entire month so that i'm not driving to winco every week for groceries. there's a great produce stand just a few minutes away from us (think big produce stand, not just a little one. this one has a nursery attached to it as well), so i'll just go there once a week and get my produce and i'll be good for the month. if all goes well, i plan on doing this at the beginning of each month and combining it with my big costco run (this costco is only ten minutes farther away than the one i've been going to), so it's really not that ridiculous to go that far for groceries. right?

on a completely unrelated and random note, i loved the second season of sherlock and am dying for the next episodes. i love masterpiece theatre and wish that i didn't have to wait for new downton abbey episodes either. the british do it well, don't they?