Ramblings from the Marginalized

This post was written by my wife and details her experience with buying groceries through Amazon.

Amazon .com Grocery is a lot like shopping at a large warehouse like Costco, except with no crowds, a more diverse selection of products, and no driving. Almost all products are free shipping with an order over $25.00 and you can subscribe for extra savings and automatic delivery.

My first order consisted of a twelve pack of Annie’s Organic Macaroni & Cheese (my daughter’s main diet staple) and a three pack of Equal Exchange Fair Trade organic coffee (3 twelve oz. bags). The mac & cheese cost about $1.88 per box (usually over $2.00 at the supermarket), and the coffee came out to about $6.60 for a ground 12oz bag. The savings were good but not huge, but I got free shipping and no going to the store (awesome!). The not going to the store part is great if you shop with children in tow.

They offer many departments including natural & organic (my personal fave), gluten free, gourmet, personal care, household items, even pet care items.

The food items are all non-perishable, no produce, meats or dairy. They carry milks of all types in aseptic packages.

You could spend hours browsing the assortment of products they carry. I was also able to add in a book that my daughter wanted, all in the same order. Super Saver shipping took about a week by USPS.

I found the shopping experience to be a positive one for a few reasons, choice, savings most of the time (have your calculator handy), and convenience. The savings in gas alone if you live in a rural area is worth it. The free shipping was great too! I will definitely order again.

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When I get paid I like to take a few dollars out of the ATM and pick up a coffee on the way into work. I don't care for Starbucks coffee at all so I usually go to one of the many Dunkin Donuts in the area and get a medium regular coffee and an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. I can't get the bacon or sausage on my sandwich because of my meat allergies.

At any rate, the sandwich (on a croissant) runs me about $1.99 and the coffee comes to $1.55. With tax I pay a little under $4 but never ask for the change. I just give them the four dollars and if they hand me change I just drop it in the jar.

Today I went to hand the woman at the register my usual four dollars and I noticed the total was over four! I was not expecting a price change but they raised the price of the coffee by 30 cents. I found myself paying $1.85 for the coffee plus $1.99 for the croissant sandwich. The total was just under $4.25 so I gave her the cash and a quarter and dropped my change (a few pennies) in the tip jar. Needless to say I will not be going there again. The deli behind my office has a similar sized coffee for $1.25 and an egg and cheese sandwich for $2.50 and that includes tax.

This sudden price change really annoyed me because I take great pains to budget my money and that extra quarter screwed me up. You might wonder how a quarter can screw me up but it is real simple: quarters add up. Four quarters make a dollar and so on. That extra quarter will cost me $1.25 per week or $5 a month. It may not sound like much but that morning coffee and sandwich are wants not needs, I can easily eat at home and not eat out.

I end up saving money but the economy suffers in the long run because I am spending less money. Thanks Dunkin Donuts, for a 30 cent price jump I am now responsible for wrecking the economy...

Image used under Creative Commons License from Flickr user misocrazy

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Hi Folks,

On Thursday, August 9th 2007, the 501st Legion CT Garrison will be making an appearance at Dairy Queen of East Hartford. Come join the fun! 

Beat the heat! Eat ice cream! Hang out with members of the Galactic Empire and take pictures with them! What more could you ask for? 

Best of all, half of the money generated from the day’s sales from the “Blizzard” frozen treat will be given to the Children’s Miracle Network. Everyone wins! 

DATE: 8/9/07 

TIME: 2pm-8pm 

LOCATION: Dairy Queen

441 Main St
East Hartford, CT 06118 

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS 

Cheers,
The Force Drainer
Paul Starybrat

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While visiting my Mother-in-law's house today to hang up some speakers she told me about the box of banana Twinkies she recently purchased. I find the normal Twinkies no longer suit my tastes (they make me sick) but I decided to try out the original banana flavored ones.

Twinkies were developed as an inexpensive treat during the Depression. Jimmy Dewar, manager of the Schiller Park, IL bakery, noticed the pans for Hostess' Little Shortbread Fingers were only used during summer months. Dewar decided to make use of the pans throughout the year by filling them with golden sponge cake and banana filling. Today's vanilla filling was the result of a banana shortage during World War II. En route to show off his new idea in St. Louis, Dewar saw a billboard for "Twinkle Toe Shoes" - and the name Twinkies was born.

source - Hostess FAQ

When the world's banana trade ground to a halt during World War II Hostess substituted a vanilla creme filling that was not dissimilar to cake frosting. Ever since the 1940's Twinkies have been using the vanilla creme for the insides of the Twinkie.

After doing multiple "limited time only" offers in the past, Hostess has decided to bring back the banana creme filled Twinkie. After eating one I have to say that I like them!

What made them decide to offer them as a staple product? When King Kong came out (Jackson version) they released Banana creme filled Twinkies for four weeks as a promotional deal with the movie. In that time span Twinkie sales jumped 20%! After that the company was persuaded to offer them as a staple product.

These things are very tasty! I can't eat a lot of sweet snacks without getting a headache and these left me hungry for more.

I asked my wife to buy some and she said, "no Twinkies in our house for you!" I wonder what other chores my Mother-in-law needs me to do? She still has a nearly full box of them... Yum... Twinkies!

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