This is what $213 worth of groceries looks like. By the time we reached the checkout line, we had 88 items in our cart. In New York, that probably would have cost at least $300.

Besides the $213 on food, we spent $403 at Nebraska Furniture Mart yesterday, the largest furniture store in the universe. It sits on 78 acres of land or something ridiculous like that. We purchased two new office chairs and a dark brown, mid-century modern-looking console for behind the couch.

Before we hit the supermarket, we went to Big Fred’s Pizza Garden for dinner. It’s supposed to have the best pizza in Omaha, but the New Yorker in me found it to be almost inedible. The crust tasted like a giant baked pita, the sauce was hardly saucy, and there was way too much cheese piled on top. Plus they hid the pepperoni under the mound of cheese, which I hate.

Anyone want to Fed Ex me some Famous Ray’s?

J and I actually left NJ on Saturday around 11:30 AM and arrived in Omaha at 1:45 AM on Monday. Our 8-hour drive to Cleveland on Saturday was mostly uneventful — except for the periods of heavy downpour that made it nearly impossible to see the cars ahead of us on I-80. Though boring, I will say that the trip through Pennsylvania was quite pretty. Lots of rolling hills and greenery.

We had a lovely BBQ with J’s family Saturday night — his mom certainly knows how to entertain. After dinner with his brother and sister-in-law, grandparents, and mom’s bf, a smaller group of us played Texas Hold ‘Em (I literally learned how to play right before the game began, so we didn’t bet any money) until 1 AM. J’s mom, who also recently learned how to play, never folds — she always bets — and she usually ends up winning. J’s brother was getting annoyed at his mother’s lack of strategy, but the rest of us found it pretty hilarious.

Sunday was a hideous travel day. Nearly 13 hours in the car — and we had to drive through the rest of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Not very scenic. Of course we got a late start out of Cleveland — we had to stop at Best Buy to pick up an FM-adapter for our iPods — so we didn’t leave until about noon. Since we packed ourselves a lunch before we left we didn’t have to stop to eat mid-afternoon, but we did stop for dinner around 7:30 PM in Le Claire, Iowa (we had to detour off I-80 in Le Claire, which is how we picked that town to eat in). After singing along to the entire Rent soundtracks and me playing DJ (albeit one with ADD), we arrived home (ahh!) in the wee hours of the morning. We unloaded the roof pack that was filled with clothing before calling it a night and crashing on our brand new Queen-sized Aero Bed.

Monday was a very productive day. We rearranged some furniture, unpacked some boxes, and bought a mattress (a Vera Wang for Serta, naturally). We also made a trip to Lowes to buy new hardware for our Craigslist-purchased bedroom furniture. J was like a kid in a candy store; I couldn’t wait to get out. I’m not what you might call “handy.” The idea of home improvement actually makes me itch a little.

I should be sleeping right now, but before bed we checked our registry lists online, and I was woken up around 2:30 AM with thoughts of bud vases and serving trays.

Later today I will post pictures of the apartment so you can see its transformation from a complete mess to slighty less messy. Even in its most chaotic state, I love it.

J and I are embarking on Part 1 of our drive to Omaha in just a few minutes. Gotta make a quick stop at the pharmacy, Dunkin’ Donuts (of course), and Best Buy (for an FM-adapter for my iPod) before we hit the highway. It’s Route 80 all the way, baby. We’ll stop in Cleveland tonight to crash at his mom’s place — and enjoy a Memorial Day weekend BBQ with that side of the family — yum!

Somewhere in middle America…here we come!