Can you even imagine?

I can't.....

What the...???

If you've talked to me lately, you know that I've been getting really frustrated with the cost of things these days, especially groceries. Yeah, I know...who isn't? I'm not saying I'm the only one - just that I've been complaining about it an awful lot.

Not only are the prices going up, but the sizes are going down, all under the guise of "new improved packaging". Take for instance, my biggest beef - Tropicana® Pure Premium Orange Juice. Here's the fancy new container....

Just fabulous, as long as you don't pay attention to the fact that you're now getting 89 oz. instead of 96.

Well, now it seems that not only are prices going up and quantities going down, but the quality is suffering too. I went to make dinner the other night, and I needed some stewed tomatoes. I pulled a can out of the pantry - Del Monte® - the brand of canned tomatoes I always buy (unless I'm making sauce - then I only buy imported Italian tomatoes). Now the last few times I've used stewed tomatoes, I've noticed I seem to be getting an awful lot of the stem end of the tomato - ya know, with the hard yellow piece? Yeah, lots of them. I end up cutting them out and chucking them, so I'm maybe getting 12 oz of usable tomatoes out of a 14.5 oz can. So, I open up this can and this is what I see....make sure you click on it to get the full effect...

Are you freakin' kidding me? Not only did they leave the stem end on, they left the whole damn stem on. Next thing you know I'll be finding leaves in there.

So that's it - no more Del Monte® tomatoes for me. I'm gonna buy whatever other brand is available - they've gotta be better than this....

Woo hoo!

Mmmm.....spaghetti....!!

Ushering in the New Year

I can easily say that 2008 was the fastest year of my life. Here's to hoping 2009 slows down a bit!

Hope you all have a wonderful year, filled with all the things that make you happiest.

Cheers!