Well. What a spendy little week THIS is turning out to be.....

My natural foods buying club order arrived this a.m. as scheduled. I had ordered nearly all bulk-food items, and most of it came in -- all except for my 25 pound bag of organic brown rice (I am willing to pay a little more for organics when the price difference isn't too drastic). Drat. Can I wait another whole month for rice?? Hmmm. Well, I do have a few grains stashed in my freezer (quinoa, millet, barely, and arborio rice), which really ought to be used up anyway. Eh, we'll make do. In any event, my total at checkout was not exactly chicken feed ($229+)-- but, of course I am expecting it to all average out over time....

Same thing with the money I went on to sign away on pet food/supplies (bedding and such, as well as pricey, high-falutin' canned food for my poor, nearly toothless dog). Shopping at PetSmart, I appreciated very much how the prices-per-oz were labeled right there on the shelf. I compared everything, took advantage of sales, and went with larger sizes when the price-per-oz was actually lower. And I made a point of stocking up, so I might avoid those annoying little emergency side trips here and there (a real aggravation). All of this will (hopefully) save money over the long haul (although writing the check for the total bill was still trifle painful at $95+).... Ah, Pets -- ya gotta love 'em (even though they can be expensive little buggers)....