Change.

I'm sorry but today I am going to have a whinge. Just a little one because that's not what I'm about in my blog space. This is my happy place where rainbows glow in clear sunny skies and small blue birds come and sit on my hand when I start to sing......oh, hang on, that's a Disney movie, oh well.

So I don't know if it has become frightfully apparent that I'm a wee bit of a neat freak. I like things tidy and in their place. I like to have a routine. I really missed out on my calling to join the military because lets face it, neat freaks thrive on routine drills and having really clean shoes.

Anyway, if you know me from Twitter, you will already have bared witness to my printed shopping list. I know it all seems a little OTT, but the list serves a valuable purpose, it makes my life easier and more efficient. Each week I grab a list and a trusty highlighter pen (sometimes two because some items are purchased at one supermarket and others at Aldi, so obviously each supermarket has it's own colour) and I scoot down my list marking the items I need.

Now just so you can really understand the depth of my 'organisational madness', my list is broken into sections like 'dairy' and 'canned goods' and these sections correspond to the aisles in my local supermarket.

Am I freaking you right out yet ? I'm guessing if you're a fellow neat freak you are standing up and applauding and saying "Now where on earth do I pick up one of these wondrous lists ?". If you're more of a wing-it person, you've probably already stopped reading and are trying to decide if a snack at eleven o'clock is a late breakfast, early lunch or brunch, for the record, my vote is brunch.

Sorry, I'm digressing again, my point is that I have a system and my system worked a treat until.....shock of horrors.....I went down to the local supermarket today and THEY HAVE MOVED EVERYTHING AROUND. It was chaos, mayhem, people running around screaming....oh alright, they weren't really, the chaos and mayhem was limited to inside my head, but I did pass some disorientated elderly folk and we shared a look that said 'Why ? Why have they done this to us ?'

But I guess at the end of the day a bit of change every now and again isn't such a bad thing. It reminds us that life is full of changes, some big, some small, and that the only way to deal with it is to take a big breath (and possibly a nip of brandy) and just get on with it the best way that we know how.

A win for Team ALDI

Get out the balloons and streamers everyone, today marks a day of great importance in the Waffler household. Today I joined Team ALDI.

Now some of you may be thinking 'Woop Dee La Dee Doo,' but the build up to today has been enormous and has taken a dedicated team of ALDI supporters approximately two years of blood, sweat and tears.

As I marched my ALDI trolley out through the golden sliding doors, I proudly contemplated my three VERY FULL shopping bags and marvelled that I had only spent $49.95. That's about a bag of grapes and packet of juice at my usual supermarket. Yes, the rumours were all true and I was impressed.

Admittedly I was a little hazy as to what the contents of my bulging shopping bags actually were as I had been loading things in to my trolley with gay abandon, deliriously chinging the savings up on my mental cash register. 10 cents, ching. 25 cents, ching. $1.50 ching, ching, ching.

But the point is that I have overcome a debilitating fear of organised chaos. No, there were no familiar lines of neat and organised shelving, but I took deep breaths and surveyed the scene like a tour guide in an unfamiliar jungle, different trees, same approach.

So now we have Breakfast Bubbles and Dippits instead of Rice Bubbles and Le Snacks, but I think we'll cope (did I mention "ching, ching"?) And to Team ALDI, thank-you all for your support and nagging, see, it does get in. Now where do I sign up for my printed sweat-shirt and badge ?