I always do my grocery shopping on Sunday evenings...it's just part of my routine now.

Yesterday, I decided to do that shopping a little earlier in the day, since I knew this storm was coming, and figured everything would be wiped out by my normal shopping time. I was not prepared.

People were circling the parking lot of the ShopRite in Middletown like it was the mall at Christmas. Duzzy and I got a spot in the very last row, and got all the way up to the store only to realize there were no carts outside -- luckily I was able to snag one from the parking lot corral.

Then it was into the madness.

I shop with a list, and our system is pretty organized at this point, so the actual shopping part wasn't TOO bad.

Then came time to checkout...and it looked like this:

grocery store line before storm
The line to checkout at ShopRite in Middletown. (Laurie Cataldo)
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Now, this line was only for the last register, but it seemed like the calmest place to wait to checkout.

The other lines were backed up into aisles, with people not being able to get through, and a lot of apparent frustration.

I probably waited about 20 minutes to checkout, and all things considered, it wasn't that bad.

I met a very interesting (and slightly terrifying) old lady in line who I swear was a combination of Sophia from Golden Girls and Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas. She made the wait go much faster, and was a heck of a lot more entertaining than just standing around.

If you plan on going to the store today, go as soon as possible, and just be patient. We're all in the same boat -- some just more anxious and/or irritable than others.

As for my plans?

bags packed for snow storm
Packed and ready to go! (Laurie Cataldo)
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I'll be camped out here at the Townsquare Towers for the foreseeable future. Just hoping to get back home to Duzzy as soon as possible...(looking like that means Wednesday.)

Stay safe everyone...we'll be here to keep you updated and entertained!

How will you be spending the next couple of days?

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