Well, not quite. But I am here to be the bearer of some bad news. The show is over. Time’s run out. Elvis has left the building.

I am shutting up shop.

Don’t get me wrong. The past year and a half running The Daily Dish has been great. I have worked harder than I ever have for no money and very little recognition. I have put lots of other things on hold so I could do so. My children have spent countless hours in the kitchen beside me, providing them with a lifetime of culinary inspiration. My husband has shopped with me, cooked with me, cleaned with me, and enjoyed the ample fruits of our labor.

But I am beat. I am looking at the tail end of Memorial Day weekend, and for once, I am dreading having to type up another recipe for tomorrow’s post. It would be one thing were I actually receiving a salary for all of my hard work, but I simply cannot do this any longer for free. The price of food is rising, and now that gas has reached $4 a gallon in Philly, I am saying NO MORE.

I have spent thousands of dollars buying food and gas alone. I am not even calculating the price of my time and creativity. This whole project, as much as I adore it, is – to put it bluntly – no longer feasible.

Four years ago, I began work on a low-sodium cookbook. A year and a half ago, I created a website to share my compiled work gratis with the world. Since that time I have garnered a dedicated following. I know people are using the site every single day. I check my stats daily. I see many of the same IP addresses week after week after week. People are cooking my recipes, downloading my photos, and occasionally emailing to thank me. It makes me very happy knowing I have provided such a service to others, but it is also exhausting. And at the end of the day, I have very little to show for it, other than a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, that is not putting any money in the bank. No one wants to give me gas and food for all these good works. They want cash.

6 months ago, I was ready to throw in the towel. You can tell by this post. But I dragged on. Well, it’s done. No more.