Movies

So its tax season.  Everyone is rushing to file their taxes, scared if they owe good ol' Uncle Sam yet excited if they don't.  This year we didn't owe Uncle Sam and the return was a good one.  It allowed us to get caught up on a lot of different things and to have a little fun as well.

One of the fun things we did was take our Princess to see the Lorax movie at one of the local movie theatres.  I figured if we went to an afternoon viewing it wouldn't be as expensive.

Here is the trailer to the movie if you haven't already seen it:






After wasting time in the mall that the theater was attached to, which sucked big time, we went to the 4:30 time slot.  For two adults and one child it came to 18.00.  I thought great, this isn't bad!  But then my Princess and my child husband couldn't go in of course without snacks.  So a small popcorn and water for Princess, and a large popcorn and Root Beer for hubby, it was 28.00!!!!!!  This theater advertises that it sells their canteen items for 30% less than any other theater in the area!  So to see an hour and half movie that isn't even something I personally wanted to watch it cost us $46.00!  This is fucking ridiculous!

What do families of five do?  I mean sure you don't have to go to the movies, sure you could smuggle in your snacks from home if you don't get caught by the ginormous security aliens checking your bags for outside theater treats.  But what if you want a treat?  Something special for your family to do, and this one thing happens to be taking your kids to a movie?

This is why, I assume, that downloading movies and such is such a huge thing right now.  I'll pay for a big screen television, a popcorn maker, and a spindle of DVD's to burn movies on or make copies of movies, and after 1 year (if you were to go to the theater twice a month) and I would have spent the same amount of money I would have going to the movies.  Oh, and I would have been a whole lot more comfortable.

P.S.  Hey you, kid who was approx 9 years old, who wouldn't stop whining over your brother not sharing the arm rest, and your sister who insisted on kicking the back of my chair, thanks for kicking over your soda so it dripped down the floor and coated the bottom of my purse with sticky sugar!  I'm sending your parents the bill for a new purse!

Doesn't It Make Sense?

As you all know I am a military spouse.  I am a wife of a husband who is known to be predictable in my actions.  We get paid twice a month.  Those two days it is common for the 10 thousand members of the military of the base we live to do their groceries on these two days.  Not all 10 thousand members go to the same grocery store, so don't think that this is the reason for my rant!

There are two grocery stores in the neighboring town to us that is literally like 8km (approx 3 miles) from our home.  One I find is very much over priced and its usually an additional 100.00 more than going to the alternative store.  However I am tempted to go into the next major city which is like 30km (approx 12 miles) away.  Here are the examples as to why:

1.  What is advertised in the flyer that week, is usually not in stock, sold out, or they just didn't have that particular flavor.

2.  There are never enough staff members on the check outs on these two days a month.  The lines are usually 5 people long or more and the cashiers are as slow as molasses.

3.  They do not have a consistency of product.  One week ground beef is available the next its not.

4.  The store is borderline not clean.

5.  They don't carry a variety of product.  No name pickles vs. Valassic only.


Now I've mentioned to some followers in the past, that I don't mind grocery shopping.  Sadly its one of my only times of getting out of the house.  Its interaction outside the family walls.  But I get so frustrated for stores that are near a military base that do not "support our troops" to the best of their ability.
After all, if these men and women can fight for our freedoms then can't you supply the damned pickles they like?

*sigh*