Grocery shopping at Trader Joe's

My MIL and I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.  I ended up getting fruit and spinach and few other healthy items.  I just bought as much as I could but also thinking of staying under a certain amount.

I am amazed at the prices, they are comparable to what I would pay at Walmart or any other grocery store. 

I bought a goodies for all of us too.  I bought Kyle "cheetos" like snack.  For Shannon and I, I bought ice cream.  I bought him "coffee bean" and for me, I chose chocolate.  Kyle has been helping me eat the chocolate ice cream. 

Afternoon trip shopping

My mother-in-law went to Trader Joe's and Stein Mart today.  They are in the same shopping center, so we went to Stein Mart first.  She was looking for a few things and only found one, which is a kitchen timer.  Then we headed over to Trader Joe's.  It was perfect timing for me, since I was going to go to the grocery store across the street later this week for produce. 

I ended up buying spinach, tomatoes, avocados, meatless patties, frozen quiche, chocolate covered raisins, and two bottles of wine!  The prices were comparable to any other grocery store and Walmart which was surprising to me.  I am glad that Trader Joe's is more affordable than I thought. 

Grocery shopping and new clothes

We went grocery shopping today!  It had been way too long since the last time we went and I was running out of food!  I was missing eating healthy. 

We bought new pants, shirts and shoes for Kyle.  I bought "big boy" pants from Dickies.  They have reinforced knees which will help since Kyle likes to play hard!  Unfortunately, they are really long on him, so I may have to fold them up.  The waist is adjustable too.  I bought two pairs in size 7 and one in size 8 (on accident).  I guess he can always grow into them!  I bought them in khaki, black and navy blue.  Kyle likes certain types of clothes and to stray from them is very difficult and he does not adjust to it.  I bought him three polo shirts (just like his other shirts).  I also found him a pair of shoes. 

Christmas Eve

This afternoon, we went grocery shopping for a few things.  It was nice for all of us to get out of the house together.  Kyle even helped push the cart to the parking lot, unload the bags and put the cart away.

Tonight, I stumbled onto a book I had downloaded on my Kindle and started reading a few chapters and found other books like it to read.  I have been reading books on living frugally and saving money.  I learned a lot of new ideas as well as ideas I have already been using.

Then I found a book on my Kindle that I don't remember downloading.  I looked it up on Amazon and looked for more free ebooks to download.  Now I have a ton of new books to read.

Grocery Shopping

We went for a trip to the grocery store.  We went to the grocery store nearest us, instead of Walmart.  I stocked up on food for the next week or so.  It's nice to have a full fridge and so many options!

The cutest part of our trip was Kyle helping daddy to push the cart to the car, then help us unload the cart and then he helped mommy put the cart away.  It was so cute and he was so happy with himself!

Productive

This morning, I ended up trying to clean up and de-clutter our second bedroom that is essentially a computer room, storage room and Kyle's toy room.  There were a lot of boxes and other things that could be thrown away.  I was tired of looking at it.  It's nice to have an almost clean room to be in. The closet is stuffed full of plastic storage containers.  Shannon decided to buy plastic storage containers instead of boxes when we were moving.  He figured plastic would last longer than cardboard (since we move so often).  I just hate how much room the storage containers take up.  So the close is full of our stuff in the plastic storage containers, plus several boxes of MRE's.  I am trying to clean up as much as I can and throw everything away that we don't use or don't need. 

I started my new workout program today!  Yesterday, I did the basic video that teaches you the moves.  Today, I started the actual workout program.  It will take me some time to learn the moves but I tried to keep up!   Tomorrow's workout requires hand weights, which I don't have so I plan on using soup cans instead. 

Shannon pretty much slept in until he had to get up and get ready for work.  I asked him several hours before he had to go to work if we could go grocery shopping and of course he said, "maybe."  That pissed me off, so I ended up walking to the grocery store and getting some healthy snacks and other things to help hold us over for a few days.  I am "okay" on dinner foods, but it would be nice to have a not-so-empty refrigerator.  On the way home from the grocery store, I stopped at McDonald's and bought a mocha frappe (chocolate chip)!  I love those drinks! 

Grocery shopping continued

Shannon works this evening from 4:30pm until 10pm.  We had time to go to Walmart for the rest of the grocery shopping.  I bought food for the next week or so for Kyle and I.

Walk for groceries

Shannon worked last night from 10pm until 6am at his security job and then he's working 9:30am until 2:30pm at Best Buy.  Soon after he left for work, I left for my walk to get groceries!  It was cold but a nice walk!  Great exercise! 

I picked up as much as I could, considering I had to carry it home.  I bought frozen veggies, macaroni and cheese (for Kyle), blueberries, cottage cheese, rice cakes, cereal and oatmeal.  There is more on my list but I can wait until Shannon can go with me. 

Backpack Program

Happy Halloween!  Last week, Kyle's teachers sent home a note asking parents to send two bags of candy and little toys.  They were going to make treat bags on Halloween to take home.  Kyle came home with a huge bag of candy! 

The school also sent a note home letting us know that he qualifies for the Backpack Program.  Once a month, they will send him home with a backpack full of non-perishable food for him to eat on the weekends.  The backpack is to be returned to school the following Tuesday.  I filled out the form and will send it back to school with him tomorrow.  I am glad we will be receiving free food from the school!

Shannon will be working the rest of the week.  He has to work both jobs on Saturday.  He will be working Friday night from 11pm until 7am and then he has to work the college football game [on Saturday] from 10am until the end of the game.  He is going to see if he can get off early that day.  Then he has to work Saturday night from 11pm until 7am!  Wow!  What a schedule!  He will get only a few hours of sleep on Saturday morning before he has to go to work at the football game. He will be getting full time hours this week which will really help us.  Hopefully by next month, we won't have to use my EE Bonds to pay the rent and bills! 

He also starts at Best Buy next week and they are going to work around his security supervisor job.  

Since Shannon has to work the rest of the week, we went to Walmart tonight for a small trip.  We bought enough food to last us a week or two. 

Groceries

We went to Walmart today for groceries.  At checkout, our bank card was denied for insufficient funds.  Luckily, Shannon had a credit card from his other bank. 

I just hate having to use my EE Bonds for most of this year to help support the family.  Although, I am glad that this past summer, Shannon finally realized he needs to look for work. 

We're just waiting for him to start at Best Buy.  He was hired yesterday and took the drug test.  We're hoping they will have him start soon! 

His other job called offering him another position for full time, but the pay was low.  They wanted to offer him this full time job because the supervisor job won't start for another week or so!    He had to turn down the full time job because he was just hired at Best Buy. 

Feeling better

I woke up this morning feeling much better. I still have a cough but I'm feeling better than this weekend. This morning, I had the urge to do yoga since I wasn't able to workout all weekend. I did 20 minutes of yoga!

Kyle woke up soon after I did. I ended up taking him for a walk to Walgreens.

We went to Walmart this evening because we were out of food! Our shelves and refrigerator were pretty much empty.

This evening, I did 20 minutes of Pilates!

Grocery Shopping and Food Pantry

Today, we went grocery shopping.  We find it easier to go while Kyle is at school.  It's quicker and less stressful.  He likes to pull stuff off the shelf and put them in the shopping cart.  He knows what he wants and he likes to grab for them. 

I called a few food pantries today and found one that we will use for now.  They are open every week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  We plan on going tomorrow.  It will be helpful to supplement our grocery bill.

Before our shopping trip today, our fridge and freezer were about 90% bare and our shelves were about 70% bare.  So we needed to go shopping today!  

Almost 2 weeks

We finally went grocery shopping today.  We have been out of food for a few days.  It's been almost two weeks since we last went to the store.  Thankfully, we have a supply of food that is meant to be stored for years.  We have several soups and pastas, so we've been eating those the last few says since we didn't have anything else. 

Home from Disney

It took 12 hours for us to get home yesterday from Disney World! Once we arrived home, I unpacked and Shannon helped put our things back. I did squeeze in one load of laundry before we went to bed. Kyle was ready for school today. He knew exactly what to do and his normal routine. Shannon and I went grocery shopping at Walmart while Kule was still in school. It's easier since he's not there to grab snacks and junk food to put in the cart. Shannon and I bought more fruits and veggies too! We're trying to make healthier choices. For this week, I have most of my school work completed. I need to work on my assignment which is a rough draft of my paper. I also have to re-read the chapter so I can take the quiz!

Grocery Shopping

Yesterday, we went to Walmart while Kyle was at school.  It's easier for us to shop without Kyle there since he likes to pull things from the shelves that he wants such as cookies and other sweets!  It is really easy to buy too much when he's around.

This time around, I noticed that both Shannon and I were being frugal with the brands and products we were buying.  I chose the store brand eggs, rather than the eggs I normally buy that are a healthier option.  I also try not to buy too many snack foods and stick with foods for meals.  Shannon usually buys Starbucks coffee, but this time he bought Folgers.  When we walked by the Starbucks display I asked him why he didn't get that brand and he said, "well, look at how expensive it is."  So, we're both working on being conscious about about the money we spend at the grocery store. 

I have even thought about buying cow's milk instead of almond milk, but I'm unsure if I can stand the taste of it.  

 

Walmart was busy!

We went grocery shopping at Walmart this afternoon.  We thought it was odd that it was busy around 3pm - 4pm.  We didn't expect the afternoon to be busy.  On the way home, we realized it was Friday and then I remembered that the Super Bowl is this weekend (I think?).

Anyway, we bought our usual groceries but also tried to be frugal about what food we bought. 

Paying it forward with food

We went grocery shopping on Monday and bought all of our groceries and other necessities.  On Tuesday evening, I realized I bought some pasta that is stuffed with herb chicken!  I accidentally grabbed the wrong pasta.  Since I don't eat chicken, I didn't want to just throw it away or hassle with trying to return/exchange it at the store.  Instead, I decided to give it to our neighbors across the street.  In the past, they have given us food from their dinner parties and he even brought over a loaf of bread and 2 grapefruits.  They have even invited us to their dinner parties but we always end up not going.  I don't know what kind of food they are serving and trying to take Kyle to someone else's house would be too much! 

I ended up giving our neighbors the pasta and an extra loaf of cinnamon swirl with raisins bread!  I bought 2 loaves but I realized I am not going to eat that much! 

The neighbor said that his daughter ended up eating 3 slices of bread and he said his son likes the bread too!  I'm glad to hear that. 

I wish Kyle liked to eat more food and not be so picky!  If the food isn't the right texture that he wants, he'll spit it out. 

Walmart after Black Friday

We ended up going to Walmart today.  We wanted to go yesterday but Kyle was still feeling sick, coughing and throwing up.  Today he's a little better.  I hope he'll be ready for school on Monday, either way, I hope to send him! 

We bought the usually groceries.  I plan on making a green bean casserole and banana nut muffins this week.  We also bought 2 pumpkin pies!  I also decided we should buy a small bag of potatoes to have baked potatoes and any leftovers can be re-heated the next day or I can add them to soups or as a side for dinner. 

Walmart wasn't as busy in the grocery section.  Shannon and I figured that everyone has plenty of leftovers, so they don't need to be shopping for food. 

I also bought a few cleaning supplies: sponges, dishwasher tabs, baking soda (to clean), and zote laundry bar (to make homemade laundry soap).

Kyle behaved at the store.  I think he was so distracted looking all around the store and he never got bored.  If he gets bored, he'll start to whine.  I think there was too much going on for him to get bored. 

Lots of fruit and a veggie tray!

Shannon and I went to Walmart while Kyle was at school this afternoon.  It was really nice going shopping without him because he can get irritated and bored after so long.  With Kyle, he is unpredictable.

As we were shopping, we saw a lot of people shopping for their Thanksgiving dinner.  I made a comment about everyone shopping for their Thanksgiving dinner and he replied, "so that's what it is?"  He had no idea why it was a little busy in the store.  We didn't buy anything for Thanksgiving, just our regular groceries.  We bought a lot of fruits just because we haven't had fruit in the house for so long.  Shannon also bought a little veggie tray that he likes to eat on his own.

Ever since he had to take a Health class and now he's having to go through another Health class, he's been trying to choose healthier food and buying more fruits and veggies. 

Over $150 grocery trip!

Wow!  We went grocery shopping about an hour after Kyle arrived home from school.  We decided to shop at a grocery store only a few blocks away, instead of going to Walmart which is about 15 minutes away.  I bought fresh fruits and vegetables, and a ton of other things.  It was a fun trip because it's been at least 3 weeks since we've been food shopping.  We went to the store last Friday and decided to not buy food (we ended up buying 3 cases of bottled water) and return the next day, however the next day turned into 6 days later.  The past few days, we've been eating out!  UGH!  I hope to make up for my bad eating with good food again!  I plan on making more Quinoa with a vegetables and meatless chicken or salmon. 

At checkout, they had to open additional registers and they had to call additional help to help check out customers.  I saw a manager, a worker with a big fabric/plastic apron on and another worker come up to help customers!