All righty, interpeeps. I was all prepared to post my SL update, but between a certain five year-old who is asserting all manner of will, a cold that apparently has no intention of leaving my chest cavity until I cough up at least one of my pesky lungs, and the non-stop coverage of Hurricane Ike, I think I’m pretty much done.
Case in point: right now it’s 5:30 in the afternoon, and I already have on my pajamas.
So I think it’s a safe bet that, in addition to dealing with The Child and The Cold, I’m gonna be flipping between CNN (their weather team is EXCELLENT, by the way) and The Weather Channel for the rest of the day. And night. And tomorrow.
Oh! And one more thing!
This afternoon I was picking up some stuff at the grocery store so we could make taco salads tonight, and I’ll have you know that the 8 ounce packages of Famous Name Brand shredded cheese were FOUR DOLLARS AND THIRTY NINE CENTS.
I nearly went on to my heavenly reward right there in front of the dairy case.
I mean, I’m pretty good at rolling with the economic punches, but once you add tax, that’s almost five dollars for two cups of shredded cheese. That seems a bit on the high side. Heaven knows that I’m a fan of cheese and all, but I’ll grate some blocks of cheddar for the rest of my earthly days before I pay that much for the privilege of using Famous Name Brand shredded cheese product.
I don’t know why this fascinates me so, but I can’t help but ask: what have you seen lately at the grocery store that caused a little sticker shock?
See y’all in the comments. I’ll be the one holding a box of tissues in one hand and a remote control in the other.
And coughing. I’ll also be doing a whole lot of coughing.
Charming as ever, I am.
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feel better. maybe L would share her sinus medicine with you. But then you’d have to skip all that fancy, pricey cheese…
Milk prices now cause me to avert my eyes every time I put a gallon into my shopping cart, and when the checker scans it. I can’t even tell you how much it costs now because I’m in denial.
I wish I could say it’s because I’m buying fancy milk or something, but no, it’s just regular store-brand milk.
Hope you feel better soon!
Tell me about the cost of cheese. We go through three mega blocks of the heavenly stuff each week. I think I’m dropping close to a hundred dollars a week just in the dairy department. That’s some MOO-LA.
Hope you get to feeling better.
Kate
I really hope you feel better soon. Being sick REALLY bites!!
Mayo — oh, my stars. $4.00 for Mayo (the little jar). I don’t even like the stuff, I just need if for chicken salad.
I’m like you, I just roll with the punches, but oh my! And now gas is a $4.19 in my neck of the woods. Good grief. I think I’ll just stay home.
Sorry you feel so crummy! And what is it with these children having the nerve to want things their way!? I keep waiting for mine to get past that phase (they’re 4 and 2 – I’ll be waiting awhile!) Everyone in Ike’s wake keep safe – prayers being said for y’all!
As for sticker shock – bread! I was at not-my-usual grocery store the other day. My store usually has some variety of my preferred brand on sale for $1.99. I never pay more than $2 for a loaf of whole wheat/7 grain/honey wheat berry Orowheat. The other store had it for $4.79! For bread! I nearly fell over! Between my bread and your cheese that’s an almost-$10 grilled cheese sandwich! Are you kidding me right now?! Like you, I’ll grate cheese ’til I’m an old lady, but do I have to bake my own bread now too? (BTW…do they really charge you tax on food items in Alabama? They don’t even do that here in CA!)
It’s not sticker shock so much for me – it’s watching the size of the containers SHRINK while the prices stays the same. That’s some dirty dealing right there. Sad thing is food is one of the things affected by the gas prices that will probably never go back down to the price they were, even when gas goes back down.
Cheese…definitely cheese. Unfortunately, they’ve gotten me addicted to it over the years in preparation for just such a time as this.
I cannot tell you about my sticker shock at the moment, cause I am laughing at you and my husband just does not get it. Enjoy your weekend, give the kid another cardboard tube, and go get the big block of wisconsin cheddar at SAMS club…it is the best flavor than the “name brand stuff” have a good one, you crazy woman.
I’m with Natalie. Cereal boxes are definetely shrinking…without the price going up. I am so tired of getting less for my money.
We are with you with the hurricane coverage. Up here in Michigan we are glued to the news to see what happens. It’s kind of like when we get a blizzard!
diapers. i cloth diaper part time, but when i buy the disposables for nighttime and toddler use, i’m always blown away for how much we pay for its intended purpose!
food items: even peanut butter is getting expensive, and i canNOT believe how much nuts are!
I hope you feel better too! I had almost the same exact thing happen to me in the grocery store last night. I was going to get some cheese for pizza tonight. Needless to say, I did NOT pay $4.39 for 2 cups of cheese! Hope your weekend is happy!
Daughter dear is still a recipient of WIC, which gives us a heavenly block of cheese a month. This covers her cheese addiction, most times, but I admit that I buy the store brand — shutter at the thought — because it seems the same to me.
Sticker shock? Um, everything. Cereal. The milk to go on the cereal. Eggs. Bread to have with said cereal, milk and eggs. Ugh!
Oscillococninum (sp?!) is great stuff! We love it. It’ll knock that cold out of you just with it’s letter count alone! Run! Buy it!
It’s not at the grocery store, but did you notice how the price of gas went up today (in Bham)… in just a few hours it went up 40 cents per galloon at one station!! SHOCKING!
Hope you feel better! Austin, TX let schools out early today so we could free up our gyms and buses for evacuees…Praying for that.
Sticker shock? TOMATOES! And they don’t even have taste anymore. MILK. SALMON.Frozen blueberries. Things just jump up and scare me on every trip to HEB. (Texas’ favorite grocery store.)
i agree with everyone who mentioned the ridiculous trend of the packages shrinking. the worst? the ice cream containers. oh my word. seriously? you can’t even drown your sorrows over the gas prices at this rate.
I’ve been complaining about the price of food for months, but my family keeps eating and eating and eating…. I wish they’d break that habit soon! :)
Sweet mercy that’s a lot of money for some cheese! Do ya’ll have Aldi down there? A 3-cup bag of shredded cheese is $2.99 WooHoo!!
Hope you feel better!
Hope you are feeling better soon!
I haven’t had much sticker shock lately but my husband went to the store for us the other day and he almost had a coronary over what EVOO costs. For a minute, I thought he didn’t buy it but he did….he just really struggled with it though!
The shredded cheese prices have skyrocketed here, too, leading me to cut down on my usage. My cooking has suffered, and my waistline has shrunk ever-so-slightly. But I sure do miss adding a handful here, a handful there, willy-nilly throughout my kitchen.
Hope you feel better soon. The most recent cold we had around here was a bad one, but the worst part only lasted about 48 hrs.
I say “amen” to the outrage on the cheese prices! I have also noticed milk and even fast food (gasp!) has gone up quite a bit. Tough times, these are!
i had that exact experience this week, but i needed 2 kinds of cheese for a recipe. i have an almost 2 year old and work full time (25 miles one way to the job) & had already done a meal plan for the week and bought all the other ingredients. so i bought the shredded cheese. but i paid over $8 for it!!! needless to say, i won’t be making that recipe again for a while.
Anything in the meat department. We may become vegetarians by necessity.
That’s the one thing about the dairy state…cheese prices are still reasonable. Thank goodness. I need me some cheese:-)
Get well soon.
Have you SEEN the price of ground cloves lately? Sheesh! $9.99 for a bottle of the off brand!
Oh, and BE GONE heathen chest cold!
Everything. Everything is expensive. I don’t even buy name brand stuff anymore.
And thanks for the laughs: I live just south of Houston, Tx and boy is it needed! Can I put in an order for another post tomorrow? If we have electricity I’ll be needing me some BooMama humor!
Thank God for http://www.thegrocerygame.com! And http://www.moneysavingmom.com That’s how I’m making ends meet these days! Hope you feel better soon!
Serious price gouging on the Oreos ’round these parts. 4.79 for 1 package o’ double stuffs.
That is crazy!
I went to grab a package of chocolate chips and it’s sooo small! it’s only 12 oz. now and not 16 oz. One of these days all our recipes will be wrong because an “package” of fill-in-the-blank will not be the same! And the avocados, are they not in season or something because even the Costco price was too high. (I justified the purchase due to the fact that the avocados were especially big.)
Right now – I’m lucky to have groceries… Ike is starting to come through my neck of the woods now, and I’m just glad to have some power and what little food I have at the moment. See ya’ll on the flip side!
As embarrassed as I am to say this, the cost of freaking ramen noodles has gone up!
They were .13 a package and they’re now almost .30!
And I shop at the Commissary (military grocery for you non-military folk)!
I can’t complain too much though. Milk is still $2.35 a gallon here and cheese is $2.00 a package.
*Running and hiding*
Oh, thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to get this one off my chest!!!
I don’t usually shop at Walmart, but this week it was a must because of several issues. I picked up a gallon of Organic Milk, and didn’t realize till I got home that it had expired the day before I bought it.
Normally, I would just chalk it up as just one of those things, but not this time….
That gallon of milk cost me (are you ready for this)…..
$6.45 !!!!
Yes, Ma’am….I kid you NOT!!!
We normally buy maple syrup, but since the price ALMOST DOUBLED about a month ago, we’ve returned to our roots and started buying Aunt Jemima again. :) Honestly, maple syrup was $4.98 last month and now it’s over $9! But we did just buy some Famous Name Brand cheese from Wal-Mart for only $1.98. You want me to buy a couple dozen bags and ship them to you? :)
Maybe I haven’t been paying attention, but my jaw dropped when I realized that I was paying nearly $8.50 for a pack of mega roll Charmin a couple of days ago.
When did that happen?
What is up with canned tomatoes and sauce?! Geesh – I have spent $160 in the past week and a half at the grocery for just 3 OF US! And this isn’t convenience food either – so it’s expensive AND messes up my kitchen : )
I now buy the store brand of cheese, and less and less of it.
Taco Salad – yummmmm!
Take care, those of you in Houston!!
$4.79 for dora the explorer band-aids! my 2-year old is obsessed with band-aids right now and i had to put them back on the shelf, as they are not for actual cuts but simply a fashion statement for her. :)
Ha I saw the cheesy stuff last night at Publix and about had a small coronary. You could buy 10 WW yogurts for $7.00. I thought that was pretty excessive! Of course nothing beats the $4+ for gas *ack*.
I hope you start feeling better and your 5 year old’s will doesn’t get him in too much trouble ;).
I hope you feel better! By the way, we are staying in Gulf Shores while we are evacuated from Ike and went shopping at, you guessed it, a Publix! Let me tell you I am in love! It compares to my beloved HEB. The Publix here has only been open for three days. I could have stayed in there forever.
Hope you feel better soon!
I’m experiencing sticker shock on about everything. Grocery shopping for our family of 6 is almost getting frightening! The cheese and milk (we have to buy soy and regular milk) are really at depressing prices. UGH!
Have a good weekend and get lots of rest!
I am so sorry your not feeling well.
Butter is what I am seeing go up in price…that and cheese.
My grocery bill has almost doubled. It almost sickens me to go to the grocery store anymore.
Maybe I should boycott food.
Maybe….
Or at least everything except chocolate.
Toilet paper! And everything else.
The good news is, I’m going to lose weight when all I can afford to eat is what I grow. Because I kill plants without even trying.
BooMama, it’s the cheese. The certain cheddar that is already cracker shaped that all the boys in my home live on. It is now exactly the same as Famous Shredded–$4.79 here. And I can’t do it for something that is gone as it is opened.
The other is a certain cereal that is the only one my husband will eat. Not the one with cinnamon, or yogurt clusters, but the good old original. The smaller box now goes for almost $5 around here too. And I’m ok with him eating it, but then the little guys want it too, but he pours them man-sized bowls which they don’t finish. And I feel like I’m throwing quarters down the drain.
Off of soapbox. I am a fortunate woman that a) I can buy the cereal and b) have a husband who loves to have breakfast with his boys. And I know it.
We are about 80% organic. 96 oz–no even 1 gallon is about 4.99. The “good food”–not the processed stuff is so expensive. Price match at Wal-Mart and shop the grocery game are awesome! I am spending about $60-100 more every month from this time last year.
Apple Cider Vinegar for you cold.
Blessings,
Jane
COFFEE!!!! oh how i Heart coffee so and our local grocery has a “S___B___s” right inside the entrance. $4.50 for a large cup of caramel bliss,,,ahhh. All of this wonderfulness while I shop:) For now I will buy the bag of coffee for 5 dollars more:)
I am living in Bangkok, Thailand for a year doing missions work and just last evening I went grocery shopping and I saw block cheese for 132 baht (which translates into $3.80). I thought that was high, but after reading your post, I guess not!!!
Also chocolate chips are over #5.00!!! But I guess my contribution doesn’t really count since I live overseas and prices are expected to be a little higher:o).
Funny thing is–you ARE charming, even when you’re oozing stuff out your facial crevices!
I’ve noticed dairy prices the most. Like you, I just buy block cheese or the Famous Brand stuff when it’s on sale. Produce has gone up a little, too. Some things are 20 to 30 cents a pound more, which doesn’t seem like it would break the bank, but when you buy produce like I do, that can be an extra $10 a week. Thankfully I have relatives who just shared their garden’s bounty with us, and a lovely little “we grow our own” shop around the corner where I can get it cheaper. :)
18 EGSS FOR 5.99. We need eggs for everything. Here on the West Coast.
My parents live in the San Francisco Bay area. And my Mom? She’s a comparison grocery shopper who’s originally from the Midwest and despises California’s crazy prices.
So my sticker shock story is from her: Last week, a dozen eggs cost $6.
Yeah, I too had a heart attack at the Wal-Mart over the cheese. And I am embarrassed to say I bought it! Curses to the South Beach Diet and their wiley ways of making me by fat free products at higer prices when clearly I am meant to buy cheap things and have a little extra around me middle!
My pajamas have been calling me all day :)
~Meredith
I’m convinced the super marts are going to start charging me to breathe their air.
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