How To Tuesdays: Grocery Shopping in Grad School

Well, we all need to eat, even us grad students. Today, I went grocery shopping. The snack foods I brought from home just would not cut it for meals the week before the cafe opens. I realized this last night when I was about to go sans dinner for the second night in a row (in all fairness, I just forgot to eat the first night - I was so enthralled in getting my room in a live-able state). I was wondering whether I wanted peanut butter crackers or Ramen noodles (without the seasoning - too much sodium!) and I was really lamenting the fact that I'd forgotten about bread, tuna, and beans when buying food back home. 

Turns out, when you need something, all you have to do is ask! Who knew?

So, I was talking to my new friend about the lack of protein filled, life sustaining foods in my room and she offered to drive me down to the store! She's so sweet! I thought she'd also be getting something, but she really wasn't there for any other reason except to drive me. And, on top of that, she gave me a chocolate cheesecake bite that she'd bought at the grocery store! She drives me somewhere and gives me chocolate? I think that's grounds for Sainthood right there.

My mantra on this shopping trip: Protein. Protein. Protein. 

(My friend, Greg, would be proud.)

Okay, you can see this isn't really a how-to guide, but let me tell what I did learn from my first real grocery shopping experience all on my very own:

1. The push cart is definitely preferable over the basket. Especially when you plan on getting glass bottles of juice and cans of beans.

2. Fruit is really expensive. I'm hoping a certain mother will see this and send me a few packages of diced peaches...

3. Canned vegetables don't go bad (well, at least not in the next year or two)... Plus, if I get fresh vegetables, I'm going to bike to the farmer's market and get them there.

4. Just because the brand you love is on sale does not mean it's going to be cheaper than the store brand. I got the store brand because I am a college student who still has not found a job (what... three days later?).

5. Planning is important. I saw a lot of stuff I'd love to have but didn't need (Rose tea for $8.99/15 bags), it was more important to buy protein and filling foods... hence the beans, burritos, canned veggies, and mac and cheese... I did splurge on the Sweet Leaf teas because they're on sale for $1 each and... I love them.

I'm going to do some more job hunting in the morning (who knows - maybe the Newton music shop will put up a "help wanted" sign while I'm asleep) and then go to Faneuil Hall, maybe some other places...

Taste and See!

I've been baking pretty much non-stop. I want to make at least 100 cupcakes, some brownies, and other desserts for my palooza tomorrow. I'm not normally a baker, or a cook, in any capacity... but I can find my way around a kitchen when I need to.

I decided that I wanted to dye the cupcakes to match my school's colors - navy blue and purple. So I dyed the yellow cake batter blue and purple and mixed them together in the cupcake tins like a marble cake. And... ta da?

Spot on if you're colorblind.

Okay, well, that didn't work. What happened? How did the blue and purple cupcakes turn into toxic pond green and earthworm brown?

I don't have any scientific-sounding reasons, but the best I can guess is that - like paint or nail polish - the batter looks darker than it will when it "dries" (in this case, bakes).

And this got me thinking... Things look different after they've had a chance to dry; after we've had a chance to work through our problems, taken some time to step back and look at the whole wall instead of inside a paint can - or, perhaps, a tray of cupcakes instead of a thick bowl of batter. It's almost like Seurat's paintings... If you look up close at A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte, all you see is flecks of color... You have to step back and take it in. When it's concentrated, like when cake batter or paint is concentrated, it's not the same.

Life is the same way. When we're dealing with something, whether it's money problems, bumps in a relationship, health scares, or just general stress, we have to step back, give it a little bit of time, and see it more clearly. Maybe it looks a little murky now, but if we give it time to process, we'll see a clearer picture, a lighter shade of paint, a green and brown cupcake. We'll be able to see things more clearly, for what they are. We know that God will help us through anything, but sometimes what we need most is to get out of that close up view and let God handle it.

Maybe after that, we'll be able to see that, yes, things will all work out:

Blue and purple cupcakes!

Taste and see that the Lord is good!

from Psalm 34:8