When we moved a little over a month ago, we stepped into a new world of sorts. I've mentioned that it is more rural here, and it is a challenge to get used to the changes.
We now have to make a trip "into town" when we need to hit the stores. That for me is really very strange. My last home in NJ was off a major highway, and I had oodles of stores at my fingertips. Where we lived both before we moved and where we live now is nothing like that, but now we are even more remote. I find that I now really have to plan my trips so I don't waste gas. If I need to run to Walmart, I might as well go to Kmart, and perhaps even Lowe's if there's something I could possibly need there. The only problem with this is that just last week I tried this idea (except a different store combination and more stops), and I found myself exhausted and starved before I was even close to being finished. So my efforts to save on gas left me without any myself!
Though we didn't move THAT far away from where we lived before, it is far enough where I needed to wave goodbye, at least on a weekly basis, to my favorite grocery store. I love that store, because it is a bit of home- the same store I always used to shop at (different location, of course). I spent this past year really getting to know the prices and the sales, and I felt like I was doing a good job with our food budget. I can still shop there on occasion, but a weekly trip doesn't make sense both in terms of gas money and in the time it will take me to go and return. So I've had to attempt to get used to a new store. Brian's mom, who came with me on my first trip there while picking up some necessities, can attest to the high prices. (She is the bargain queen when it comes to food and there are few wiser in this area.) However, it is the closest store to me, so I've determined to make do and look for the deals. I go slowly throughout the store and take my time, looking at price tags carefully, and deciding what I can get there or what I'd be wiser to get elsewhere. It can be frustrating because I feel like I've taken a few steps backward when it comes to food budget planning, and I hope to find my new rhythm soon enough.
That is just shopping. I'm still trying to get used to these windy, curvy roads that nearly make me nauseous when Brian drives (he drives too fast), and when I drive people are on my tail because apparently this Jersey girl is only used to flat, even roads. Then there's the constant looking out for deer, because they're a plenty! Then again, never mind the deer, because a bear ran across the street as I was driving home yesterday! Thank goodness he was in front of the car ahead of me, but I couldn't help braking like a frightened student driver nonetheless. As for the other driver, he zipped along, seemingly unfazed.
Welcome to the Poconos! It's a new life, and it will certainly take some getting used to.
