the scoop in c'ville

some things haven't changed since you left cville:

1. the traffic still sucks
2. it's still 70 frickin' degrees out there (and i'm still bitter about it)
3. laura is still buying random tacky crap at the target simply b/c it is 75% off and it can be used to dispense alcoholic beverages

some things, however, are different:

THE KROGER AT BARRACK'S HAS RE-OPENED!!!

so i know that not everyone cares about the kroger, but i have always been a devoted kroger shopper, even when it was dirty and did not carry lettuce. that did not bother me. if you are going to live off of frozen foods and prepackaged goods (plus you have very low standards for cleanliness), then i do not see how the unsightliness of your grocery store can affect your foods. and since kroger sells their lean cuisines for like $1.50 less than the teeter, which is just one of numerous examples of big savings to be had at the kroger, well i am sorry, but you can just call me a kroger devotee. (tho i also have to give props to the teeter. it is a lovely store and i have had some wonderful customer service there (the avocado incident of summer 2005 pre-dates this blog or you would all know what i am talking about) and there are certainly things for which i prefer the teeter.)

anyways, the new kroger is open and ave and i decided that we would go give it a look-see after our farewell dinner at 5 guys. well, i must say that i am very glad i went with someone else. you know how i am about change.

i couldn't even walk in the door initially. it was DIFFERENT! they didn't just make it the same old kroger! they made it AN ALL NEW KROGER! and i was a bit distraught.

but gradually, i made my way in. to the newer, more expansive produce section. to the smorgasbord of cheeses. to the expanded bakery section. TO THE PRETTY PRINCESS CAKE! and the PIRATE SHIP CAKE! (sorry, the cakes were kinda amazing.) to the WALK IN BEER REFRIGERATOR (with quite a selection of 40s, it must be noted. i like that the updated kroger is sticking to their ghetto roots.) and i am sure there are any number of other fabulous new things that i have already forgotten about b/c my memory sucks and b/c i was just trying to remember about the pirate cake. oh, and if you go, see if you notice that there are donuts EVERYWHERE. seriously, i don't know how many places you can put donuts in one grocery store.

so while the initial shock of not my usual kroger was a bit much, i think i am going to quickly settle back in and i am very excited about the fabulous new look of the kroger! (oh, except they have a new font on the front of the store and that disturbed me a lot, b/c isn't that a trademark thing? i mean, i associate a particular font with the kroger, and now i'm worried that this isn't really the kroger i knew and loved but it's really some sort of k (teeny tiny space) roger and they are going to mooch off of the goodwill of the kroger in the area, and that would explain why the inside is so totally different and i didn't check the prices! what if the prices aren't as low and fabulous as they used to be?!?! oh my. i am going to have to investigate this further. unfortunately, that is going to have to wait for a bit b/c it turns out that this class i am taking runs from 8:30 AM TO 9PM FOR THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS!!! does anyone else think that is CRAZY?!?!?! ok, parenthetical multi-pronged rant ending now.)