$138 A Week For Groceries - On Aging Wieners & Day 19 Meals (Wednesday)

Between a toddler who's been keeping odd hours and a senior citizen wiener dog who's begun to do the same and wake us up multiple times a night for all kinds of unapparent reasons, I'm mostly a mental zombie these days. Tallying these meals is about all I can muster, mentally speaking. I do also manage to get the meals cooked, so YAY me.

It's strange when your pet's mind starts to go because their senility can't be manifested through a language you can readily understand. I've spent much of the past few weeks in a perpetual state of frustration at Honeydew for wanting to eat 20 times a day some days, waking us up 5 or 6 times a night others, and peeing in all the wrong places yet others.

The symptoms started creeping up on us, and they just seemed mostly ornery or incorrigible for a while when observed in pieces. That we've had a two year old to tend to also hasn't helped our powers of observation. And because Honeydew's mostly been a sedentary dog with a penchant for beauty sleep, an apparent loss of energy didn't really clue us in, either.

But then her symptoms all started happening together, and with increasing frequency, and her eyes are really beginning to show her age - almost as if overnight. Though if I'm to be honest with myself, it'd probably have been clear much earlier to someone who was paying better attention.

She's lived 13 of her expected 15 years. That's 91 out of 105 in our terms. I have no idea what that means for her personal lifespan. I've seen humans linger in a slowly degenerative state for at least 2 or 3 dog years...

But as much as we've joked that she's an old wiener and not really believed it, it's time to believe it now. Honeydew is now, without doubt, an old lady.

So even though she really has lived like a spoiled cat who doesn't go in a litter box and only comes to her humans when she wants something, her self-serving nature easily forgotten (if only temporarily) when you look into those soulful eyes of hers, I'm committing to show her a little more tenderness in her old age. 

From now on, I promise to only threaten to cook her twice a week tops.

Speaking of cooking...

Breakfast

For me and Izz, a half PB&J. Izz also had a couple of chunks of pineapple. For the boys, French Toast with pineapple and blueberries.

BREAKFAST TOTAL (2 adults, 1 teen, 1 toddler): $4.72

Lunch

For Dean, a ham sandwich, a garden salad with a dressing made by mixing the last of the Garlic Lime Crema and Blended Pico De Gallo together, and the last 3 Famous Amos Cookies. I'm sure I haven't accounted for every last cookie, but they are finally all eaten!

I had the very last of the spaghetti with Slow Cooker Tomato Pasta Sauce with Italian Sausage and some kimchi on the side because that's how we part Koreans roll from time to time...

Izz had a hard boiled egg, a handful of Cheddar Rockets, a little more pineapple, and milk. Joey took his usual juice pouch and apple and then came home from school and had a hotdog.

LUNCH TOTAL (2 adults, 1 teen, 1 toddler): $4.21

Dinner

Panfried catfish fillets topped with a ratatouille-inspired melange of eggplant, zucchini, tomato, onion, and olives, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and lemon juice. I made 4 servings, and we ate three.

Izz had a handful of olives and some of my catfish.

Dean and I also drank that Trader Joe's Blanc de Blancs. Alright for a $6 bubbly, but needed more bubbles. I don't think I'd buy it again, but I don't exactly regret drinking it once.

Joey had a bowl of pineapple later in the evening.

DINNER TOTAL (2 adults, 1 teen, 1 toddler): $16.29

4 SERVINGS CATFISH WITH VEG: $8.37

COST PER SERVING: $2.09

MEALS DAY 19 TOTAL: $25.22

Laundry calls.

shinae

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