This being our 2006 Halloween Gift Guide

It's time for the first (soon-to-be) annual grocerylists.org Halloween Gift Guide. Treats, tricks, costumes and some fun gift and party suggestions. Prices current as of the last week of September 2006. Enjoy! For anyone and everyone It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (DVD) | "Charlie Brown gets rocks in his trick-or-treat bag, Linus awaits a visitation from the Great Pumpkin in his terribly sincere pumpkin patch (while the adoring little Sally sits tight with him), Snoopy falls asleep, Lucy harasses Schroeder, and Pig-Pen kicks up a dust storm even beneath his costume in this classic television broadcast. Funny stuff, but also graced with Charles Schultz's more poignant and gently satiric themes from the 1960s on the influence of faith, failure, and hope in our lives." ($12.88) For cookie aficionados who entertain in style Halloween Cookie Collection | "Almost too scary to eat ... but positively too delicious not to. One dozen scrumptious cookies, artfully decorated for the season and delivered in the handsome lidded gift box shown. Kids love them (of course), but they might also make a fun way to break the ice at a formal dinner party." ($29.95) For curiously soft, whole-grain babies Infant Wonder Bread Costume | "Wonder Bread Loafing around, waiting for all the ohhs and ahhs to begin! Sleeveless poly fleece bunting with attached hood easily fits over clothes. Self-stick fabric snaps at bottom provide easy access for changing diapers. Machine wash. Imported. 3-12 mos." ($24.98) For macabre psychos Bates Motel Sign | "The perfect 'welcome' sign for your home. Electric, plastic sign with chain attached for easy hanging. 'Vacancy' portion blinks just like the original one in the classic horror movie, Psycho! Measures 16 in x 16 in x 2.25 in." ($29.99) For your partyin' pooch Hot Dog Halloween Costume |"This Halloween, your dog will really be the HOT DOG you always knew he or she could be. Available in Ketchep or Mustard condiments. Adorable pet costumes make any pet the life of the party. They dress up any pet to turn any occasion into a humorous photo opportunity." ($16.89) For egomaniacal children (aren't they all?) Smilin' Pumpkin Apparel | "'Carved' exclusively for them. our Smilin' Pumpkin Apparel is the perfect way for all boys and ghouls to get in the Halloween spirit! We custom personalize each happy and glowing pumpkin smile with their first name making it fun to wear to school, halloween parties, or the annual pumpkin patch hayride!" ($12.95-24.95) For the gadget freak Egg & Muffin Toaster | Perfect for cool fall mornings: "Need toast? You've got it. Want a poached or hard boiled egg? It's yours. And if you want them together in your favorite breakfast sandwich, the Egg & Muffin Toaster also warms your pre-cooked meat. Bingo... Ready to eat in about 4 minutes. It's sort of the drive-thru breakfast without the drive." ($39.99) For retro trick-or-treaters Candy you ate as a kid® | "Send a 4 lb. 'Candy you ate as a kid®' assortment with a personalized candy box top. A Halloween gift no one will forget! Each candy box measures 12x9x3 inches and is jammed with over 70 of your old time favorites [choose candy from the 1950s through the 1980s]." ($34.99) For coineseurs of creepy deliciousness Godiva Chocolate: Pumpkin Patch Truffles | "A seasonal delicacy. Our popular pumpkin truffles are filled with creamypumpkin-spice ganache, covered in milk chocolate and dusted with cinnamon. Positively wicked. Kosher OU-D." ($12.50) Love, The GLC Crew and keaggy.com

Posted at 7:16 AM Central Time

The Way We List Now
Hey, today's Wall Street Journal has a great article about lists and mentions my upcoming book in the sidebar: "After finding a discarded grocery list outside a supermarket 10 years ago, St. Louis-based photographer Bill Keaggy began a collection, and he now has more than 1,000. His book is divided into chapters, like lists that seem to be for party preparations (chips, salsa, beer, paper plates) and "sad lists," some of which include a lot of medications."

The story might be behind the WSJ paywall, but you can read the sidebar that mentions the book at the Ventura County Star. Posted at 8:10 AM Central Time

From the "Your Life Sucks" dept.


1. Depression
2. Kids with knotted, matted hair
3. Headaches and various pains
4. Constipation
5. Sensitive teeth Posted at 8:24 AM Central Time

This site: Inspiring or insipid?
Option A: Inspired, at CRUMLEYdotORG: "The day we left for Mississippi I received a gift I had purchased for myself: No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog. My book is even autographed by Miss Maggie herself. This is a variation on number 44: Take Inventory. In the suggestion she references Grocerylists.org, a site devoted to found grocery lists. Later I plan on adding the gem I have displayed below..."

Option B: Insipid, at COHENSIDE: "There are many places on the Internet to waste time, but this is one takes the prize. It is a collection of grocery lists that some guy found. He began collecting them in the nineties and at some point the Internet became savvy enough to accept his collection as a website. I'm torn about this site. On the one hand, it's hysterical and on the other, it's just plain, sad." Posted at 10:50 PM Central Time

High-Tech Shopping Carts Face Hurdles
"It took a grocer's offer of a cookie to finally tear 4-year-old Trey Malcom away from the small TV screen in his shopping cart. Even then, his eyes shot back to the monitor the moment he accepted the sprinkled treat from the Publix grocery store clerk. 'He's in his own world,' said his mother, Amy Malcom, who was for once at peace as she filled her cart with veggies and snacks." Posted at 10:40 PM Central Time

COMING AT THE END OF THE WEEK!

Halloween is on its way -- and so is the first (soon-to-be) annual grocerylists.org Halloween Gift Guide. You'll find cool treats, tricks, costumes and fun gift and party suggestions, all available for delivery from a variety of interesting online shops. Check back this weekend!

Posted at 8:44 AM Central Time

Online grocery shoppers heed diet tips
"Online grocery shoppers who receive dietary advice make healthier food choices, researchers have found. The Australian team compiled a list of commonly purchased foods that contained up to 92 per cent saturated fat and a low fat alternative for each. In a step toward a healthier heart, shoppers who received product-specific dietary advice reduced the saturated fat in their shopping baskets by 10 per cent compared with those who received general diet tips, the team reports in Friday's issue of the journal PloS Clinical Trials." Posted at 8:40 AM Central Time

Shopping List, or, Why I Love My Husband
Seen at Flickr: "When my husband and I started dating, I shared an apartment with a friend, and we had a markerboard on the fridge where we kept our grocery lists and other things we needed to remember. One day, I noticed an odd addition to my list, that Frank had made when I wasn't paying attention: POP TARTS.

Frank continues to add Pop Tarts to any grocery list that is left unattended. And it never fails to make me smile."
Posted at 9:30 AM Central Time

Spinach!?
An educated opinion on the E. Coli/spinach problem: "Chez Pim has a special guest blogger today, his name is Andy Griffin. Andy and his wife Julia operates Mariquita Farm in Santa Cruz county, growing an amazing array of delectable vegetables including rare and heirloom varieties. Andy was the original owner of Riverside Farms, a pioneer in the bagged baby greens market. Ten years ago he sold Riverside Farms to the company which later became Natural Selections, the company at the very center of the current fiasco. Needless to say Andy has both the knowledge and the perspective to offer a commentary about the situation, and he's agreed to do that here on Chez Pim. Read it in its entirety. This is the best and most informative piece of writing about this mess I've seen since this whole thing began. It certainly explains a lot of things for me, and I hope it will for you too." (Thanks megnut!)

While we're on the subject, here are alternatives to spinach for your salads, courtesy of Slashfood. Posted at 9:26 AM Central Time

Some rearranging
I killed the "Vanity blog" that used to be seen in the right column and I rolled all the links into this main weblog. And someday I'll categorize all the links. Someday. Posted at 8:32 AM Central Time

In Search of Grocery Gems
"After a summer wallowing in fresh produce and farmers' markets, it's always a shock to come back to the supermarket. Many of New York City's supermarkets are a thing apart from the well-lighted, spacious havens found elsewhere in the country, and like many in the city I avoid them by cobbling together a food supply from Zabar's, bodegas, the Internet, Whole Foods and the like. This year, instead of skulking off to my local fancy food store (where the high prices can bring tears of pain at checkout), I embraced the assignment of learning to love my supermarket: grimy aisles, shelves of overprocessed food and all." Posted at 10:41 AM Central Time

Mighty Girl's new book
Maggie Mason: "No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog is my very first book! ... Buying your copy here is better than buying it at a major retail outlet because I will sign it and caress it lovingly before mailing it to you. If you like, I will whisper sweet nothings in its ear, such is my dedication to your book. When you receive your copy, you'll find it is full of great writing prompts (100 of them!) for bloggers. These prompts will make readers gasp with delight and return to your blog again and again for its staggering insight and extravagant wit. Readers besides your mom."

The best part? One of our funniest grocery lists is included in Maggie's book. Yay for us and her! (You can also order it from Amazon here: No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog) Posted at 7:21 AM Central Time

Consumers can take steps to shop smarter, cheaper, faster
"Imagine a supermarket where you can always find stellar service, rock-bottom prices and high-quality foods.A store where the lines are never long, the checkouts are never closed, the aisles are never crowded and the foods are never out of stock.OK, let's face it; the perfect supermarket doesn't exist." Posted at 9:22 AM Central Time

The Best Time to Buy Everything
"...bargain lovers know that there's a smart time to buy just about anything. For example, those looking for a great deal on a car should shop on weekday mornings in September. Groceries are cheapest on Sunday evenings. We talked to the experts, and found the best time to buy everything from wine to wedding dresses." Posted at 8:42 AM Central Time

Looking back at a longtime friendship
"I have this thing about birthdays. I always want to ignore them. I just don't want to think about getting any older. But my friend Mary Little always tried to set me straight. For her, every birthday, every year was a bonus." Posted at 12:22 PM Central Time

Last-minute dinners can be simple, fun
"A spur-of-the-moment dinner for friends is often far simpler and a lot more fun than one I've planned two weeks in advance. I feel less pressured to have the house cleaned to the nines, thus avoiding the usual tiff with my spouse about his picking up piles of books and pairs of shoes strewn throughout our home." Posted at 7:50 AM Central Time

Free books: It's the September GLC giveaway!
UPDATE: The books are gone! | It's back-to-school time again, when all y'all college kids drink lots of beer and eat lots of bad food. If you want a fighting chance at staying healthy -- at least through fall semester -- try one of these books. ;-)

The first person to write in and request one of the books linked below gets it for free during our 9th Monthly GLC Book Giveaway of 2006. Limit one per person and you must request a specific book and send me your mailing address -- although we won't use your email or postal address for anything other than sending you the book. Email me for a free book while they last!

Gone! Claimed by Kelly of Van Buren, Ohio
The Dorm Room Diet: The 8-Step Program for Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Plan That Really Works
"Daughter of bestselling cardiologist Mehmet Oz (You: The Owner's Manual), the young Oz struggled with weight as a teen. Now a Princeton sophomore, she offers a range of advice for college girls hoping to sidestep the 'Freshman 15.' Those late-night study binges, tailgating and sports events, parties, TV watching and heavy talks can lead even clever Ivy Leaguers down the road to weight gain. No doubt inspired by her dad (who penned the introduction), Oz offers an eight-step program that advocates sensible, healthful eating, exercise and vitamin use. While warning against the pitfalls of high-calorie foods like alcohol, full-fat cheese and simple carbs, she okays coffee in moderation, bread dipped in olive oil, and chocolate. Balance is crucial, Oz notes, pointing out that one night of partying won't spoil everything if it's followed by healthy eating the next day." —Amazon.com (List price: $16.95)

Gone! Claimed by Edwin of Fullerton, California
Student's Go Vegan Cookbook: Over 135 Quick, Easy, Cheap, and Tasty Vegan Recipes
"In this practical, encouraging volume, Raymond demonstrates the ease, as well as the pleasures, of a diet free of animal-derived foods. The author of Student's Vegetarian Cookbook offers helpful suggestions about stocking the vegan pantry -- with whole grains, dairy-free milks, fresh fruits and vegetables, and meat substitutes such as tofu, seitan and tempeh -- and notes that the staples of a vegan diet are low-fat, cholesterol-free and rich in fiber and nutrients. Recipes include dips, wraps, soups, pastas and desserts from a variety of cuisines. Crunchy Blueberry Pancakes are light and sweet, with a satisfying cornmeal crunch; Basic Baked Tofu, with its gingery, garlicky marinade, is anything but basic. Other winning dishes include the rich, almost meaty Shallot and Mushroom Gravy, the refreshing Millet Salad with Curry-Ginger Dressing, the fragrant Indonesian Tempeh Stew and the savory Caramelized Onion, Walnut and Sage Pizza. The recipes are homey, simple and quick." —Amazon.com (List price: $13.95)

UPDATE: These books are gone! Check back in every month for more free books.

Love,
The GLC Crew and keaggy.com Posted at 12:28 PM Central Time

Grocery stores eating loss of missing carts
"Abandoned shopping carts are a common sight in Oceanside and elsewhere, but the theft and vandalism of marketplace conveyances represent a considerable loss for local retailers, prime among them grocery outlets. 'We lose probably four to five thousand dollars a year to vandalism and disappearing carts,' says Clayton Baker, franchise owner of Thrifty Foods in Parksville." Posted at 8:38 AM Central Time

Attention, Shoplifters
"Store managers these days need all the high-tech help they can get. Increasingly, they're under assault from organized gangs of professional shoplifters. These skilled thieves walk off with huge amounts of selected items and resell them at discounts. The pros are driving up losses dramatically, to $855 per shoplifting incident last year, from $265 in 2003, according to a survey by the University of Florida's Center for Studies in Criminology and Law. All told, stores lost $30 billion to shoplifting and employee theft in 2005." Posted at 9:20 AM Central Time

BBC Shopping List Generator
"Writing a healthy shopping list isn't easy, and sticking to it when you enter a supermarket full of tempting convenience food is even harder. Use our shopping list generator to change your weekly shopping habits to healthy ones and find out why you should select our suggested alternative products." Posted at 8:14 AM Central Time