Never. I repeat, Never go to the grocery store when you are hungry. The smart person would have figured this out a long time ago, but I happen to only be an average person.

I asked D last night what he would like for dinner seeing as we had no thawed meat in our house. He said, "You could go to Trader Joes and pick up one of those vegetarian Indian dishes that I like so much." Oooh! good idea! I was already hungry at this point.

I hop in my little car and drive down the street to the bestest grocery store in the whole world. (ok, it’s not as good as Whole Foods, but we don’t have one of those here.) I love Trader Joes. See my love decent wine at affordable prices here.

I am not much of a snacker. I eat my meals at very specific times and don’t eat much in between. Let’s just overlook the 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in one week thing shall we. But… when I go to the grocery store hungry I come home with all kinds of crap that I don’t really need. I have been known to buy a box of Lucky Charms just because it looked good that very moment.

So I am standing in the chip aisle at TJ’s thinking I really should get myself a snack for those moments when hunger strikes. I found the most delectible little treat! Papadums! Papadums are typically a large, tortilla sized crispy Indian flat bread. Difficult to make at home, but oh so yummy. Thanks to the magic of TJ’s they have made this treat into a bite sized chip. Of course they need some kind of dip to go with them. OOOOHHHH Hummus!!! I sounded like a hippie stoned out of my gorde in the middle of the store. I hot foot it over to the dip area and they have about 6 different kinds of hummus. I select the garlic.

I really could eat this snack as a whole meal. In fact I might just do that for lunch today. If you have a TJ’s near you, try it. I promise you will like it! Sure beats the reduced fat Cheez-its I just ate*. Reduced fat. Really. Who buys reduced fat snack foods. If you are going to snack have something that actually tastes good.
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*Please note that I passed up the unopened box of Thin Mints sitting right next to the Cheez-its. What the heck was I thinking?

I have a weakness. Ok, I have more than one, but this one is a biggie! It’s that time of year again when the little angelic girls in their little green dresses whore their cookies at every grocery store, department store, convenience store and everywhere else you go to. They have even infiltrated our local IKEA! You know the ones. The Girl Scouts.

I am a Girl Scout cookie addict. Whew, it felt good to get that off my chest. Anyway, about a month ago one of our sweet little younglings at church looked at me with her big doe eyes and said, "Elle, will you buy some of my cookies." Well, I’m not sure sweetheart… I don’t have my checkbook with me. "That’s ok, you don’t have to pay right now." Ok then, I’ll buy a few boxes.

How many boxes does Elle purchase? 5. That simply won’t do. That is not nearly enough cookies to get me through the week. Actually, I bought 2 Thin Mint and 3 of those peanut butter things. Those are D’s. I am a Thin Mint snob.

You would be proud to know that I did not rip open the box and start shoving said cookies into my face the minute the little angel delivered them. I was a good girl. I waited until the next day when I ate nearly an entire sleeve in one sitting. It is day 2 of the cookie fest and I am almost through my first box. I am eyeing that second box and thinking about where I can find me a fix when that one is gone.

I will fully admit that I am a Girl Scout hunter. I usually don’t have the privledged of pre-purchasing my cookies. I actually like it when they ask at the store. They see this huge target on my chest from a mile away. I buy at least 3-5 boxes each time. They LOVE me!!

I secretly cry when they are all done selling cookies each year. I have to go back to the Thin Mint ice cream that just isn’t the same. I really shouldn’t eat it anyway with that whole lactose intolerant thing.

So if you hear news reports of some cookie crazed lady taking Girl Scouts hostage looking for a cookie fix… that’s me.