little miss nosy

One of the cool things about the internet is that it often makes the habits we consider so quirky to look pretty darn normal in comparison. I'm not talking about those really creepy or bizarre websites that gross you out for days. I'm primarily talking about blogging and the blogging community. Chat rooms would do the same thing, as would discussion boards. They're all a wonderful opportunity to throw whatever you want to out into cyberspace and then realize that, for the most part, we're all in the same boat.


I was gratified to find that I'm not the only person who peeks into houses on Halloween to check out the paint colors and architectural details. I'm relieved that other people deliberately put something they've already done onto their To Do list so they have something to cross off immediately. I'm happily surprised to know that other people are just as interested in the mundane details of other people's lives as I am. There's normalcy in numbers - or at least I'd like to think so.


Today I was trying to download a master grocery list on-line. You know, one of those lists that you customize with your own grocery needs and take to the store with you, all in the name of being an organizational freak and shaving a few minutes a week off of your chore list? (I'm not being judgmental. Honest. It takes one to know one). And what did I stumble upon but this? It's a website that people send their grocery lists to and they post them. The basic premise is that a huge number of people are just as nosy as I am, and I am here to tell you that these lists are fascinating. They've even turned this site into a book, believe it or not, sort of a gastronomic Post Secret.


Don't worry. I'm not going to post my grocery list. I've got it written and ready to go, though, because I've already had to plan meals for next week, since it's going to be wicked busy. But as I looked at my menus, that old nosiness crept back in. I write a lot about what we eat, partly because I'm a food junkie. But I always wonder about other people and what they put on their table. Obviously I'm not alone, if a grocery list website can spawn a book.


So, lets trade. I'll tell you one meal we're having either this week or next, and then you do the same. I'm really curious about this.


Our sample meal is salmon teriyaki, jasmine rice and steamed broccoli. I don't normally plan desserts - if I do make something, the kids eat it and if I don't, they either go without or have some ice cream or something. (I'd love to say they eat fruit for dessert every night, but I'd be a big time liar).


Okay. Your turn.