This Week’s Fifty Dollar Grocery Shopping Trip
May 23, 2009 by Katelyn
Filed under Frugal Mom
This week, I went to Martin’s for my shopping trip. I actually spent $51.14, but it was pretty close to $50. I blame the organic breakfast pastries, which someone in the family prefers over the sugary traditional breakfast pastries. I had one and I have to say, they are good. Anyway, here’s what I got:
Photo via Amazon.com
2 packs gum
Spaghetti sauce
4 boxes Kelloggs cereal
2 boxes Lipton tea
1 box Stash tea
2 containers mayo
Aforementioned organic breakfast pastries
3 packs pudding
Bread
Soda (4 pack root beer – This week’s big splurge item at $3.)
Organic chips
Bagelfuls
Corndogs
Garlic sticks
2 bags fries
White pizza
Bagel pizzas
Cheese sticks
Sliced cheese
2 containers of butter spread
Gallon of milk
Crackers
With the fruit and produce someone gave me, we’re set. We’ll be using some meat from the freezer and some tortilla shells from the fridge, along with some of the things we bought this week for a dinner menu of:
Sunday – Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Monday – Memorial Day picnic
Tuesday – Breakfast food (Probably pancakes, but maybe French toast…)
Wednesday – Pizzas
Thursday – Tortillas (Cook a few frozen chicken breasts and add 1 can tomatoes, 1 can corn and 1 can beans. Really good and works for those who like plainer food.) Add traditional garnishes.
Friday – Spaghetti
Saturday – Tuna casserole (I know, but we actually all like it…and I have a lot of bread crusts left over from our DIY Uncrustables to make bread crumbs with. Or bread pudding. Hmm. I haven’t had bread pudding in ages.)
I took my daughter to Plumpton Park Zoo on Saturday, taking the word of one mother to the next. Imagine my surprise to find it to be a roadside death trap in a crazy man’s backyard. The smell is repulsive! The whole place is filthy. My 8 year old started crying when she saw the condition of the animals in their cages- which are nothing more than plywood and chickenwire. We got out of their fast and I called to report the “zoo”s condition from my car. The officer I spoke with said that the owner has a long history of violations. He also told me that roadside zoos are extremely dangerous for visitors. Poor care of the animals can increase you and your families risk of bacterial infections. Remember parents, diseases passed from animals to humans are not preventable by sanitizer gel. If you do choose to take your child there, bring soap and water! Also, there is not enough barriers to keep a curious kid away from the enclosures of some fairly disgruntled animals. Be aware of this when you visit- if your child can fit an arm in, then a tiger or bear can fit theirs out. Leave a wide gap! As for me, I will NEVER be returning there. Not only for the concern of the animals safety, but for my child’s saftey as well. I am absolutely disgusted by the place!!!!! I will be following up on my complaint and would love to see that place closed. Plumpton Park claims to be a rescue zoo, but in reality- the animals there still need to be rescued. I urge anyone who reads this to consider a longer drive to a reputable zoo. Its worth your child’s health.
Melissa,
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the zoo. I’ve been there several times and it has always been very clean and the animals have seemed well cared for. The only area that had any odor was the heated room where the huge python lives and it smelled exactly like a large snake. They have a very strong odor.
The cages may not the huge safari areas like the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore has, but the animals have more room than the ones at the Maryland Zoo used to have before they did extensive upgrades. I remember the elephants still being in small stall like areas less than 10 years ago.
If you are concerned about diseases, I would avoid petting animals or would try using the soap and water available in the zoo’s rest rooms or would use the hand sanitizer stations.
The larger animals were not in plywood and chicken wire cages. The wiring is much heavier than that. I do recall chicken wire cages, but I saw turkeys in them.
There is an additional split rail fence several feet from the cages, but children should be supervised so they don’t climb over fences at this, or any zoo.
The zoo is obviously not for everyone, but I went there because it was recommended by several parents and we all enjoyed our visits immensely. As I state several times on my blog, what I write is based on my opinion and my experiences and it won’t always match everyone else’s experience.