My transformation into my grandmother is 90% complete

So I guess the really big news today is I logged into my credit card account this morning and found that someone had made $400 of unauthorized charges that were all still marked "pending." I called the company up and canceled the card, of course, so it should hopefully be low-drama and end there.

But what I actually want to talk about is my trip to the grocery store today. I've got some leftovers and we're planning to use some stuff from the meat CSA to make spaghetti and meatballs tomorrow night, plus I'm on another trip to Chicago from Thurs-Sat, so I didn't want to get too much. But I did need to replace my vanilla, having used the last of it to make my housemate's birthday cake yesterday. (It was delicious, in case you were wondering.)

Now vanilla is expensive. I got to the right aisle and started scanning the per-oz price (something I've been doing a lot lately) only to be stopped in my tracks by a special: store-brand organic vanilla extract, 2 2-oz bottles for $5. This is insanely cheap; the other kind of organic vanilla extract was more than twice as much. Naturally everyone else had already noticed this so the shelf was empty.

Old me: sighs and buys McCormick's vanilla for $5 for a 2-oz bottle.

New me: tracks down a store associate and asks if they'll see if what I want is in stock. Answer: no, "but we can substitute." So I ended up getting regular (not organic -- but real, which is what I actually cared about) vanilla extract, 2 2-oz bottles for $5. Again, an insanely good price.

Then I got home and laughed at myself, because this is the kind of thing my grandmother of blessed memory would have bragged about for at least a month while teenage me tried not to roll my eyes. Maybe more. I miss her.

So, here's my grocery bill for the week:

Parsley, $0.79
28 oz crushed tomatoes, $1.59
28 oz diced tomatoes, $1.59
Organic kale, $1.99
Vanilla extract (YEAH BABY), $5.00
Onion powder, $3.29
Loaf of bread, $4.75
2 chocolate bars to take to work for afternoon snacks, $5.00

Grand total with tax, $24.35

Basically, the food plan for the week is: spaghetti and meatballs (hence the tomatoes, kale, bread (for breadcrumbs) and parsley, to go along with meat, parmesan, eggs, and whatnot we already have), plus a leftover lentil stew thing, plus some combinations of eggs and toast and peanut butter sandwiches and whatever the hell else, because we only have four days to cover until I go to Chicago on Thursday morning.