WOW - I didn't mean for it to be so long between posts!

Let's get the passport update out of the way. I had all of our passports back in hand in less than a month. At least that part wasn't so difficult.

Right now, I'm sitting on the couch by myself watching wall-to-wall weather coverage. Our area has been hit pretty hard tonight by tornadoes and severe storms. It's all been just a smidge to the east from us, but there was evidently a damaging tornado super close to our old house. From what they're saying on the news, it was within a half mile. I know someone who lives out that way, and they've had to leave their home - no damage that they know of yet (it's night now), but no power, etc. Scary stuff!

But back to the real stuff...

I'm trying something new with groceries. I've been doing well with my less than $400 or bust goal, but I've gotten extremely burned on couponing. I don't think I've clipped in a month, so I've got a big stack to do. I've got to get back on track, especially since it's triple coupon week at Harris Teeter.

So my new thing was to drive to Trader Joe's. Yes, drive, so there's an extra expense, but I have a real crush on TJ's. The food is amazingly cheap for natural and organic foods. I can get almost everything I need sans our diet Mt Dew there, which is not the case at Whole Foods. I went to TJ's 10 days ago, and I bought 101 items for $233. I have only gone to HT for soda and milk, so I think that's pretty good! My goal was to stock up at TJ's so I could save money in the long run. The hard part is knowing what to buy. Like I bought some panko bread crumbs because they were there. I didn't really need them. I've just got to get my TJ's groove figured out.

I drove to one of the Charlotte locations, but I think next time, I'll head to Chapel Hill. It's a bit further, but I'm more comfortable with the drive. And how can I pass up a chance to go to The Thrill??