This past weekend, I was able to spend time with some of my favorite people from those college years. They are the people that met me as a shy freshman, molded me into what you see today, and keep me coming back to the now bustling Mississippi Delta over and over again.

Not only did I get to see some of the Tri Deltas that I spent many a day and night with drinking too much, staying up too late, and sometimes talking about absolutely nothing with, but I also spent some time Friday afternoon with my best friend’s two little girls.

When I was in graduate school, Addelyn was born and was the perfect little baby doll that we all got to play with, teach things, and learn things from. I taught her about The Family Stone while reading the classics to her, and she taught me that no matter how many times I crawl around on the floor for her, she’s not going to crawl herself until she’s ready. A few years later after I moved home, her little sister Avery came to play. This past October I got to spend a little time with this adorable blond haired, blue eyed girl. She’s sweet as pie and loves a good snuggle. Basically, I couldn’t drive fast enough Friday to get to Cleveland so I could see these two (and their mom and dad).

So what did we do on Friday? We baked a chocolate pie. Addelyn went to Kroger with us to pick up all the ingredients; we picked up Avery from daycare; and we headed home to get to work in the kitchen. They were eager to help; and somehow, I was patient enough to let them. Addelyn slowly stirred the chocolate and butter on the stove while Avery helped measure out the sugar and vanilla and even cracked an egg for me. They both helped me temper the eggs with the hot chocolate and pour the mixture into the crust. While they weren’t as patient for the baking to finish up, they did love the outcome that night after dinner.

To date, it’s one of the sweetest chocolate chess pies I’ve made; and I didn’t even have a bite.

Well, I did it. I joined Costco. I mean, why the hell not? I’m in Baton Rouge at least every Monday, and who doesn’t love buying toilet paper and plastic wrap in bulk?

I made my first official visit as a member on Monday saying I was only going in to “check it out.” Thirty minutes later I was pushing a cart filled with cereal for 20, Vitamin Water for 40, and enough Ziploc bags to completely organize a small village’s produce for the freezer this summer. I think it was a fantastic investment of my time and even found a few favorites to pass along.

Apples Wrapped in Plastic

Duh! Why hasn’t Wal-Mart and the locals been offering this for fresh produce? I can’t wait to fill the area around my trash can under my sink with these contraptions to be used at some point in the future for God knows what. I can promise there will come a project when I get to say, “I have the exact storage container for that. Let me grab the 20 plastic apple crates I have in my cabinets.”

Corn Popped by the Thousands

This bag the size of a large L.L. Bean backpack is home to the best organic and lightly salted popcorn there is. It’s better than Skinny Pop; Orville can step aside; and I have no need to throw a bag in the microwave again. I am one of those people that considers a bag of popcorn a meal; so finding Popcornopolis’ Organic Nearly Naked being passed around as a sample was like hitting the actual $195 million lottery. Plus, it was only $3.47 for a 14-ounce bag. Your average microwaveable option is a little over 2 and a half ounces with most of that being left in the bottom of the bag as hard kernels. So far, this bag of goodness has provided one meal on the road; and you can barely tell I’ve made a dent.