Every Thing Comes with Change

With moving for anyone many things change and adjustments are made. You have to get used to your new surroundings, new neighbors, finding your way around town, places to eat, new date night places, new job, house, friends, traffic, weather, style, country living vs. city living. I mean the list goes on and on. One of the things that I didn't think would be a huge change or adjustment for me has been one of the biggest adjustments. I've never been that person that loves loves to go grocery shopping but I certainly did not mind it either. When we lived in Hawaii the hubbs and I always went together. I wouldn't of had it any other way. It was my first time ever grocery shopping for my family (even if it was just the two of us, so it was a bit intimidating.) Once we PCSed to a The South 90% of the time I had to go by myself because of the hubbs job and life on the trail he was always working weekends and not able to go. I got used to it and frankly ended up liking it better that way. You see it saved us a TON of money. I'm one that has a list, a strict list and I stick to my list. If it's not on the list I do NOT get it. There's not if ands or buts. I prioritize our income and budget out everything, (of course that's a personal choice we choice) it's worked out really well for us. But when the hubbs would come along we would get extras here and there and they add up, quickly might I add. So I learned a routine to shop on my own and it worked. I enjoyed it. We've always shopping at the commissary on post, its easy convenient and makes much more sense when you think about the prices at local or big name stores. Even now living off post in TN I still shop at the commissary here but boy has that been the biggest headache ever. The first time we went in was when we came up and signed on our house to. So it was a quick in and out. It felt overwhelming because it was so much bigger. I felt out of place because it wasn't "my commissary" were I shopped regularly. I know it would become "mine" over time but goodness I didn't expect it to take this long. I could go in to the commissary at Jackson or even the one on Schofield and go right to what I needed but here nope not happening. I've already been multiple times and I still hate that place. Its so big, its set up completely different and so backwards. They have household items spread all through out the store instead of having them in one section together. The refrigerated stuff and freeze stuff is completely separated and spread apart. As well as the lunch meat, bacon, and breakfast items. Then through in the pet stuff smack in the middle of a random aisle and the cleaning stuff no, lets not put it all together on one aisle we will take up two that aren't even side by side. The bread section is again split in to two areas and is right in the front of the store, its almost as it your walking out to go back to the bread section before checking out. On and don't get me started on the people here at the commissary. I though it was bad shopping with all of the elderly retired service members at Jackson. Shoot here lets just stop in the middles of the aisle and walk back and forth until I find what I need. No reason to push my cart to the side out of the way. I passed one girl in there the other day with headphones on and she said as I passed her "OMG, you scared the crap out of me." Well maybe you should take your jam session some were else because there's people here trying got shop and avoid your dance party in the aisle. Another couple stops in front of the can goods and decides to have a make out session. Another has her entire family, husband and three kids two carts completely full and walks side by side down the aisles while they allow their children to help pick the items off the shelf. Don't get me wrong I"m all about letting the kids help but stick to one side. I seriously HATE that commissary and don't know if I'll ever get used to it. I still don't know my way around it. At Jackson I knew what aisles I didn't have to go down because I didn't need anything on it. Here NOPE, I find myself back tracking several times trying to make sure I got everything on my list. Its so so so annoying, I try to be quick about it, in and out but that just doesn't happen. I never though I'd get so frustrated shopping at the commissary. I avoid going on payday or even the day after so that I don't have to deal with that made rush so its not even that. I know its a new store, new lay out and its just going to take time but holy crap how much time. On the plus side I have our shopping trips down to once a month. Have you ever had problems or difficulties learning your way around a new commissary? Just one of the joys about moving I suppose, life as a milispouse right!!! 

Taking advantage of some FREE time.

Since I got out of work super early today (thank goodness) I decided to go ahead and get the commissary shopping out of the way. I've managed get our shopping down to once a month give or take a trip for veggies or dairy items here and there.  The hubby has started back with a new cycle as you know, so I try to keep healthy quick snack items on stock for him. His days are so busy and long that he doesn't often have time to stop and eat. A week or so ago he bought one of these "grabbers" as we call them at school. He absolutely loved them and hasn't put them down. Its like applesauce in a squeeze pack. He requested I buy them in bulk when I can. So that I did, taking every last one off the shelf at the commissary. I'm sure they though I was crazy. Another must have for him here lately has been Coconut water, apparently it helps keep your hydrated when out in the horrible heat. I haven't tried one myself but I'll take his word for it. Got to take care of the hubbs, he doesn't ask for much so its the least I can do. :) 

Also taking advantage of having gotten off work early I went ahead and made a few freezer meals. I'm trying this out for the first time this month. As much as I love cooking sometimes on long days and late nights for the hubbs its easy just to pull something right out of the freeze that's already prepared and I just have to toss it in the crock pot or oven. And its still a homemade meal and not a store bought frozen freezer box. I'll let you know how they turn out here over the next few weeks. 

Teriyaki Chicken

Savory Chicken

Baked Southwest Eggrolls 

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

~DAY 309~

It's that time of the month

I really dislike going to the commissary sometimes, even more so because here the last few months its just me. The hubby used to go with me every time. With his work hours it just doesn't work out that was any more. Thankfully we've managed to get our commissary shopping down to once a month. Tomorrow is that "once a month" trip so I'm spending the evening getting my lists ready. I pull from different recipe books we have and on line as well for meal ideas. I compile a list of each meal we are going to have over the next 4 weeks and print it out. From there its posted on the frig. and we mark them off as we make them. Now don't get me wrong we may change things up here and there and we always have extra on stock in case we want something different. This however keeps us on budget with out going on a crazy "Oh that looks good, lets get that" shopping spree. It also allow me to make sure we are using everything in our pantry. I always check to see what we have on stock first before making out our meal list. I try to make meals around what we have left from the last shopping trip. This helps in  keeping things from piling up on the shelves.

Do you have any commissary / grocery shopping tips you'd like to share?!?!?!? 

~DAY 274~

Commissary Shopping

Since the hubbs has CQ again today or really this evening I decided I should go ahead and brave the commissary. I simply hate hate going but its got to be done, before he started Drill School and even in Hawaii we would always go together. After my first trip alone in Hawaii before he came home I swore I'd never do it alone again. Woomp Woomp Wooomp, here I am eating my words and going to the commissary alone. I've been doing it for the past ummm 4 months now and I suppose its not that bad its horrible .  You just have to weave around every old retired person that stops in the of the aisle, look the other way when a child is acting a complete fool in front of you and the parent can't control them. Besides them always being out of ground turkey and never more than 3 or 4 lanes open its not to crazy I guess. The thing that annoys me (you military spouses will understand what I'm talking about) at the check out line you know how you have to wait till the next number is called or lights up on the display to tell you which lane to go to......yea well they don't have one of those here. So I never know which lane to go to or when, I mean there's not even someone there to tell you. I don't want to be that person that goes to the wrong lane for whatever reason. Its simply but you get use to things like that and when its gone and learning a new system can be frustrating. 

Yes, I type my list our every trip and categorize it done so it makes it easier for me to do the shopping. I've done it this way since we moved in together and it works perfect. I even have my own little system of how I put things in the cart and on the belt when I go to check out. This helps me see how much we are sending on "whats on the list" and "whats extra". I have found that going alone I save a good bit more money because the hubbs isn't there tossing in everything in sight that looks good to him. 

We even type out the meals we are going to be having over the next month and post it on the frig. This helps in knowing what is going to be made for dinner each night. I don't find myself standing in the pantry trying to come up with a meal. Also this helps because it makes sure that I ONLY get what I need and not a random amount of useless items. 

How do your shopping trips go at the Commissary??? 

Are you as OCD about it as I am????

~DAY 247~

My Commissary Shopping Adventure

DAY 108

Before the hubbs started Drill School he told me he probably wouldn't want to go deal with the craziness of the commissary shopping while he was going through school. Ok, I suppose I can deal with doing it on my own for a couple trips. I HATE THE COMMISSARY, when I moved to Hawaii the first time I went he was still deployed. Lets just say I NEVER went alone again unless it was just for one or two things. That place is a freaking nightmare and its no different here. It's always been our thing to sit down together figure out our meals for the weeks to come for that month and then I make the shopping list. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to the list, I type it up on the computer by category and aisle to make for a easier shopping trip. 

This week I figured I'd go before the guys / military got paid to avoid the massive crowds and un~stocked shelves. I had my list in hand ready to go, I asked the hubbs if he wanted to go one last time in hopes he would feel pity on me and say yes but it didn't happen. He was going to stay home and study. Ok Ok, you get a free pass because your in school right now but buddy I tell you when you graduate its back to the BOTH of us. lol. 

When I got to the Commissary thankfully it wasn't to crowed and I was able to get a decent parking spot along with a cart. This is rare here because everyone one and their old retired self likes to use more then one cart. I decided that I wouldn't rush myself in hopes of not forgetting anything on my list and having to back track through the store. See my "Runner" wasn't with me and I didn't want to have to go back for something I missed on a previous aisle, that's what the hubbs is for. Oh and pushing the cart, I hate pushing the cart, especially with a 45lb bag of dog food on the bottom of it. Sure I could have got it last and made pushing the cart easier but my luck I would have for gotten and the pups wouldn't of had food. 

 We have a very small commissary, I was just about done. After I would say about a hour, I told you I took my time. I had to look up a couple items to figure out what they were or were they were located. I also searched and made sure to get the best deal on each item I was purchasing. Picking up some fresh fruits and veggies before I headed to the check out I was walking through the bread section when I happened upon a shelf that I knew the hubbs would LOVE. How we've missed this before I have no clue, or maybe its new. Anyhow I was so excited, it was his all time favorite cookie ever. He seriously loves these soft frosty lemon cookies and we can never find them any were. A couple times we found them at the commissary in Hawaii but after that they were either always sold out or never in stock to begin with. His mom would send them to us for the longest time, but after a while they stopped stocking them at the commissary were she did her shopping. Its probably been a good year or more since he's had any and so as soon as I saw them I grabbed a few boxes, snapped a picture and sent it to him. 

Me~look what I found!!!

(picture below)

Hubbs~ that's a Hell of a find!!!!!!

I started laughing so hard right there in the middle of the aisle because it was just so funny. I knew he would be excited about them and sure enough he was. I don't know if we just hadn't paid attention before or if it was just the fact that I was taking my time and looking at every square inch of the shelves as I shopped but I was so glad I came across them. It's little things like this that makes me smile, he is so easy to please when it comes to yummy snacks and sweets. :) I hope they keep them in stock here and its not just a tease. I've gown quite addicted to them as well.