Visitors = New Treats

We all get into our grocery store ruts... we get in, shop for what we always shop for, we get out.

But when visitors come, the rules change. You get insight as to how they eat and how they shop and - in our case these past weeks - how they spoil. Let me share with you some of my recent discoveries:

When Lynette visited: Fig newtons. I mean, let's face it, it's not the most sought after snack, but it just REALLY hit the spot. And now I can't stop! And those Starbucks Mocha thingies in the jar...as if that wasn't high-cal enough... Lynette went an added this new twist where she blended up ice and heavy whipping cream and poured the stinkin drink over that! WOW. And Constant Comet iced tea. She always makes iced tea when we're around. She sweetens it with a pound of sugar and it REALLY hits the spot in the afternoon.

When Ricci and Diane visited: They are Diet Pepsi people, so I always have it on hand when they're here. I am not one to drink a ton of pop, but I went CRAZY on the stuff. Oh, how good it tastes when you need a little pep me up. Ricci also is a microwave popcorn nut. I never usually buy it, but what a treat. And this last little surprise was an impulse buy, since we were all too lazy to prepare a dessert during their visit: mint double stuffed oreos. HELLO! Go out and buy it. Now.

When Becky visited: Chai Latte. It's so yummy. She bought a box of the stuff at Starbucks and we popped it in the Cocomotion - equal parts the mixture and milk. I'm never going to stop buying it. I'm hooked. And tapioca pudding... could it be possible that I had never officially tasted tapioca pudding before Becky presented a warm, steaming bowl of it my way during her stay? IMG, it's so good warm. All for like 79 cents! And she went out on a limb and bought an eggplant during her visit - she put together this BRILLIANT eggplant parmesian concoction... I didn't even KNOW I liked eggplant. Given this newfound veggy delight, I ordered eggplant parmesian for lunch yesterday (woulda NEVER done that at a restaurant had I not been introduced to it!).