Only $3 a week

Ahhh...layaway. I saw a TV ad last night for layaway services at Wal-Mart**. It showed a happy woman picking out a bunch of toys, giving them to the layaway agent and then picking them up before Christmas with snowflakes flying in the air. Seriously...an ad for layaway.

I vividly remember using layaway as a teenager in the 80's. I'd go pick out that perfect pair of Calvin Klein jeans (that were overpriced then, too) give the store $5 to hold them on layaway for a month, work extra shifts at the restaurant to get enough tips to release my dream jeans to my closet, and marvel at my purchase that only took 30 days to accomplish. It was the American way. If you couldn't afford something, you put it on hold until you had the cash in hand, then it was yours. Very motivating.

So after this ad I thought about why I hadn't used layaway in my adult life. Seems brilliant when you think about it. And then I realized why - because I now have credit cards. And I could take home the goods right away. And pay $5 a week over time without having to visit my jeans every week because they'd be in my closet. But when I think about it, I don't own some of the things in my house - Chase Bank and Capital One does.

No wonder our country is in such a economic crisis - if only we all stuck to layaway - thanks Wal-Mart for the reality check!!!

**just saw it again...it was K-Mart, not Wal-Mart...oops.

Shopping directory

I'm going to make pea soup tonight. That might excite or gross some of you out, but it is a childhood meal that my Mom would make with the leftovers of a boiled dinner - which if you aren't part Irish and a fan of boiled meats you probably wouldn't understand. However, I made one on Sunday and now I have lots of left over ham.

This will be my first endeavor with a homemade soup other than chicken noodle/rice/tortellini and the chili variations. At the store today I had no idea where to find my split peas for my soup. I sort of stood in the middle of the supermarket with a blank stare that blatantly shouted "Out of her element!"

Then, I noticed an elderly woman at the end of an aisle holding a laminated, yellow list hanging from a chain in her hand. What was that thing? By God it was a directory of everything in that aisle!! An index of what could be found on the left and right. They were at the end of every aisle. I have been shopping there for 7 years and have never seen (noticed) that little gift at the end of each aisle. I usually walk slowly up and down, turning my head slowly, and hoping the big, green sign that lists 6 things like "Hot/Cold Cereal - Coffee - Tea - Canned Fruits" will be enough to trigger my memory of what I needed.

Just then I remembered where they moved the Goya beans to and off I went. Who has time to read a laminated list, anyway?