Never Again

Bulk stores tempt us to buy bulk; I suppose that's their purpose in life. But as I related before here: Oatmeal that's not necessarily a good idea.

Last August I bought a 52 serving box of flavored oatmeal, individually packed. I ate the last three this morning. On purpose: I was down to three and I was sick of eating oatmeal even once a week and I poured them all into a bowl and finished it off. Yes, mixed with boiling water. Who would eat oatmeal dry, except maybe Mr. Ed?

I am now officially sick of oatmeal. Sure, I'll have more some day. But it will out of the 12 serving boxes from the local grocery store. I'll never again buy it in such huge packages. I mean it. 

Or at least, right this minute I mean it. 

Friday Oatmeal

We're all, well, many of us anyway, a little too undisciplined with our spending. I know I am. And the fact is that it generally isn't the big expenditures which break our budgets. It's the nickel and dime stuff which leave us with $12.87 and payday three days off.

So in resolving to try and spend more wisely, on Fridays I am eating oatmeal for breakfast until I've eaten all the Quaker Oats I have. I'm trying to be old school Catholic anyhow and go meatless on Fridays as it is. This should help.

What brought this on was the big box of instant oatmeal which I bought at a warehouse store back in July. It was on sale, I liked the various flavors offered, and I should eat more oatmeal anyway, right? Good source of fiber or roughage or something, my doctor tells me. 

So there's 52 servings of instant oatmeal which I had to have back in July, and four of them have been consumed. Two of those were by my son and daughter in law respectively when they were in for Christmas. And that's not including the 8 count box of pumpkin spice flavor I bought in October because, pumpkin spice, right? So there's 52-4+8, or, wait, getting my calculator, 56 packets of instant oatmeal in a box on the fridge.

I'm going to eat them, two at a time, for my Friday breakfasts until they're gone. Then I will not buy that much oatmeal at once ever again. 

Unless it's a good price.

And it's the fruit and cream flavors.

And until the next time I lose my self discipline.

But up till then, it's not happening.

The oatmeal tuna meal

I can't remember exactly which birthday, but when our oldest son turned six or seven we took him to a restaurant and told him he could order anything on the menu for his dinner. You know, a birthday treat. "Anything?" he asked, smiling brightly at such opportunity.

"Anything," we said.

Soon enough the waitress appeared. My wife or I one ordered for our younger children, then each for ourselves. The waitress turned to our eldest. "What would you like, honey?" she questioned him.

After much deliberation he replied, "A bowl of oatmeal and a tuna sandwich."

The woman looked between my wife and I quizzically and we said it was fine. Hey, it was his birthday. If that's what made him happy, we were okay with it.