Summer Madness

Hot, hot, hot today! It wasn't even humid. It was just hot. We're into the Dog Days of Summer now, and it sure feels like it. I spent most of my only day off this week shopping. I picked up my paycheck first, then rode over to Wal-Mart. I was hoping to find a new bathing suit to replace the green one I bought last summer that's now three sizes too big for me. It would seem that so's every woman customer at Wal-Mart. I didn't see any bathing suits left that even close to fit. They were all big plus sizes. Fashion Bug had the same problem. I guess I missed all the size 14-16s.

I did end up with a very cute sun dress, a white embroidered shirt to go with my new peach ruffled skirt, and a pair of dark-blue shorts to replace a pair of dark-blue shorts I have now that are way too big. The sun dress came from Wal-Mart. It's red and white polka-dots with blue trim. I still don't like the high waists that are currently in style, but it seems to be impossible to find a dress without one. At least the gathers at the chest aren't too obvious. The polka-dot dress replaces a peach dress with small purple flowers and a lace collar that looked like something an old lady would wear and is now 4 sizes too big for me. I also picked up a pair of good white summer shoes from Fashion Bug to go with my sun dress and the peach skirt. They, too, are a little more cutesy than I'd prefer, white slip-ons with bows on the sides, but it's hard to find summer shoes without some silly-looking trim. Maybe I could somehow get the ribbons off.

I had a slice of vegetable pizza and a bottle of water at Tu Se Bella's, then went back over to the Acme to buy this week's groceries. I grabbed yogurt (the Acme now has Light Banana Cream Pie...and their Light Cappuccino and Pina Colada flavors are back), small steaks that were on sale, single packs of salmon and flounder, spaghetti sauce, and items to make a pudding pie for Jodie's party tomorrow evening.

I put the pie together when I got home, after I finally got everything put away. That Banana Cream Pie went over so well at my cousin Taylere's graduation party last month (and was so easy to make), I decided to make a similar pie for Jodie's party. The Acme had the big boxes of Jello's new Chip flavored puddings - chocolate or vanilla pudding with mini flavored chips or cookies mixed in. I made a Chocolate Mint Chip Cream Pie with the Jello Chocolate Mint Chip pudding, a chocolate graham cracker crust, and the last $1.00 container of Acme whipped topping on the shelf.

I had originally planned on finishing the cleaning today, but I was so tired between my long work week and my shopping, it never happened. After I put together my bills, a rebate, and the form for the insurance and got those in the mail, I walked over to the bank. It was a half-hour before closing, and the bank was very busy. It was really too hot for a long walk, so I was straight to the bank and just made a quick stop at 7-11 on the way home for a Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Vanilla soda and a nifty soft pretzel sprinkled with bits of garlic and poppy seeds in addition to salt.

The rest of the afternoon was spent inside, watching the bonus material on Yankee Doodle Dandy. I started another bio-musical, 'Til The Clouds Roll By, while making a delicious dinner of Quick Chicken Cacciatore (from a low-fat cookbook I bought at the thrift shop last year), spinach and cucumber salad, and a slice of fresh farm market sourdough bread.