...just how much money I can save when I go shopping at Trader Joe's. I walked out of there with 4 bags of groceries (large canvas totes), 2 bags of chips, and a gallon of milk for less than $95. The same stuff at the regular grocery store would have cost me twice that.

It's been a long time since I have gone there simply because the parking situation is atrocious. But at 7:30 tonight it crossed my mind that the parking lot should have some spaces at that time and I really wanted to get some canned corn. They have the best tasting canned corn, hands down. It tastes fresh and sweet and it is canned in BPA free cans. I got 20 cans. I would have gotten more, but I wanted to leave some on the shelf for others. Corn is one of the things that is very labor intensive to home can so I don't bother.

I was excited to see they now have both a Funyun and a Dorito replacement. We can't eat the originals because of allergies to about 5 ingredients in each. The onion ones were better than the originals and the nacho cheese ones were the closest thing I've found. DS was a happy camper.

Shredded cabbage had gone up in price. It used to be a $1.29 for a 16 oz bag and now it is a 10 oz bag for the same price. I know I should always shred my own cabbage, then it is .39 a pound, but I do get tempted by these bags because it makes it so fast and easy to make coleslaw. I mean, it takes all of 5 minutes to shred up a cabbage. LOL I try not to be that lazy often. But the big box of not Cheerio's is still $1.99 a pound so you win some, you lose some.

I picked up a pound of frozen bell pepper strips (yellow, red, orange, and green) for $1.69. Single bell peppers are running $2 right now. So I will have my strips for pizzas and can dice them smaller for omelets. It should last a few months.

I feel like I have been spending money right and left this week, but our stock of so much had been used up. My cupboards were not bare, but they were getting there. I still have to do a Costco run, ugh. Just a few things from there that I can't get good prices on elsewhere, like butter, the right kind of tomato sauce, and the type of toilet paper that my son is not allergic to.

We also need to buy rabbit feed. I am thinking about getting 250 pounds this time. That is five bags and will cost $93.50 with tax. I wish tax wasn't on animal feed. We don't have tax on people food in this state, and since it is food, you'd think they'd give it a pass, but no. We have 3.5 litters growing out at present and those guys eat. Feed costs are worth it in the amount of meat we get out of it, but I am tired of going to the store so often for it, so hopefully this will be enough for a month.

On the 19th Sweetie Belle and Serenity will be old enough to be bred and then we'll have five does in various stages of pregnancy or raising litters. Wonder how much feed they will go through then? We are at the point where we are eating rabbit almost once a week now, but there is no surplus to build up our freezer stock with (or to be canned). Since I don't want to have litters born during the coldest months of January and February, I will do my last breeding in early November and not breed again until mid-February. So I want to have enough meat put up to get through those months of no production.

Although Andromeda will be old enough to be bred in December I will not breed her until mid-February. A first time mother does not need to have her first litter in the freezing cold. I have been fortunate with both Phoebe and Lola on their first litters. First time rabbit mothers can often lose their entire first litter. I'd like to keep that track record up.