"Make me a list"

I do the grocery shopping 'round these here parts. 

I wrangle the produce and I corall the frozen foods. 

Who am I kidding.  I grocery shop every other Sunday and I prepare for each trip weeks in advance.  You see, I'm pretty proud to admit that my grocery budget is well under control.  $75 on average every other week.  I have to admit, this is usually supplemented by a monthly trip to Costco that runs in the $100 range. 

I brave the grocery store, Big Mike does the Costco trip.  This is how it's been for a while now, and to be honest, it's working pretty well for us.  He can go to Costco during the weekdays when fewer people are there and I head to the grocery store early on Sunday mornings while they're still low-key. 

I have also become the coupon queen.  Costco's coupons.  LA Times coupons.  Coupon websites.  Coupons that print out in the store after you've paid for your items.  Entertainment Book coupons.  I get them all, and I usually use most of them. 

Throughout our entire relationship, I've made a very conscious effort not to nag Big Mike.  I don't tell him what to eat (unless I cooked it, then he'd better eat it!).  I don't tell him when to clean.  I don't tell him what to do.  Until now...

Now he says, "I'm going to Costco today.  Make me a list." 

"A list?" I ask. 

"Yes, a list.  Otherwise I won't know what to get." 

Then my head spins and I think, "I can't make him a list!?!  That would make me the nagging girlfriend!  No one wants a nagging girlfriend!"  So I didn't make a list. 

Then I started making lists on the fridge for myself when I am gettig ready to go to the grocery store, and Big Mike said again, "Make me a list." 

So I huffed and I puffed and I made him a list and handed him all of the coupons that I had dilligently collected.  He came home with a treasure chest full of Costco goodies! 

Nestle chocolate chips.  Prego spaghetti sauce.  Eucerine body lotion.  And these...

Big, huge, happy sunflowers!  I really am convinced that lists are not a bad thing, because if he was really upset about me making him a list, would he have bought me flowers?  I don't think so. 

I have to go now, I have a few pounds of Nestle chocolate chips that are begging to be eaten or turned into something fattening. 

Shop happy! 

Kipp