Oh Temptress, Thy Name Is Little Debbie

Today was the first difficult day of the September Shopping Challenge.

Last night I realised I was on my last can of dog food, which meant I needed to go today for my mid-week emergency stop.  I was dreading it, because I have been working on a list all week of things I need to get eventually, and knowing I was going into the store for dog food was like sneaking out of my teenage bedroom window to go raving while grounded.  I started thinking of all the things I could buy on my one mid-week shopping trip and had to keep reminding myself I wasn't allowed.  Finally, instead of going to Walmart where the brand of dog food I usually buy is sold, I decided to make a quick stop into Dollar General instead and just get one or two cans of the generic stuff to get me by until Friday.

But even Dollar General seemed to be curling her sexy manicured finger at me, alluring me into her chamber and tempting me with all kinds of naughty delights.

I tried to go directly to the pet section in the back but accidentally took the toy aisle, a dangerous route for Lolly.  Luckily we made it through that valley of darkness and arrived safely in Pets.  I found a can of what seemed the most similar to what Gracie is used to and picked up two.

Then came the problem I always have when I'm just wanting to get one thing; I never carry any cash.  So for two cans of dog food, at 75 cents a piece, I was going to have to use my debit card.... what?  No.  It's just wrong on principle.  But I needed dog food, I couldn't leave without it, and I wasn't going to buy lots of the rubbish dog food just to justify using my card.  So I thought, 'What else do I need?' and I walked through the Halloween aisle.  I caressed a bag of candy corn, but thoughts of the Challenge reminded me candy corn isn't a necessity.  I quickly ushered Lolly out of the Halloween section to the food.  I didn't need milk or cereal or chips or...

Pizza crust!

There on the shelf was pizza crust with sauce.  Pizza crust (mix) and sauce had been on my shopping list last Friday but for the life of me I couldn't find them in Kroger.  Pizza is on our menu for this week, and I'd forgotten I hadn't been able to find any.  So even though they looked cheap and will probably taste like a plimsol, I bought the ready-made pizza crusts with their individual sachets of sauce and felt that purchase justified using my debit card and met the criteria for the challenge.

I made it all the way to the check out when I saw them... Little Debbie's Bat Brownies.  Suddenly my growling stomach reminded me I'd missed breakfast this morning and wouldn't be home until lunch, since Lolly had her monthly homeschool get together right after, and my impulse got the better of me before my reason had time to counter. The Little Debbies were tossed onto the conveyor belt just in time for them to be scanned and bagged.

I spent $8.77 in Dollar General today, $1.75 of which were Bat Brownies, the best brownies ever.  Actually, they taste pretty crap, but anything tastes better with a little sprinkling of something illicit.