Appliances are a Girl's Best Friend

Belated Merry Christmas from S.Wells!

Our family just got back from a snowy trip to Mansfield for dinner and a little shopping.  BW came home early this afternoon from working in Louisiana over Christmas, and it was lovely to be able to get out of the house with him and the kids for dinner at Cheddar's.  I am so grateful that our children are capable of being civilized creatures at restaurants - it is a minor miracle that "dinner out with kids" is actually enjoyable, given that they are 5, 4, and 7 months (going on 24 pounds...).  It is not always so, but tonight, they were goofy little saints.

After dinner, we wandered around Menard's and exhibited impressive amounts of self-control, only buying a laminate remnant for our bathroom floor, appropriate accessories to make the magic happen, and an air filter for the furnace. 

Come on, people, three cheers!  We were looking at carpeting and wood flooring and almost committed the crime of impulse buying, diving headfirst into the bottomless pit of home remodeling.  We're really good at spending money, so if you have any money that you need to spend, just let us know.  We'll take care of it. 

So, leaving the store with only $42 worth of merchandise to complete a desperately needed smelly olive green bathroom carpet replacement is a serious victory.  P.S. I really like adjectives and adverbs.  Really.

I was feeling pretty good about myself after the Menard's victory.  The kids were continuing with their above-average behavior and only climbing on some of the boxes of laminate flooring and rolls of remnant carpeting, so I thought I'd take a chance on Kohl's while we were out.  I had Kohl's cash to burn and a couple items to return, plus some money from my in-laws, and believe it or not, Kohl's was having a sale!  Surprise, surprise!

Well, the witching hour hit and my well-mannered children turned into giggling hyenas while I waited in the service line, but we managed to push on and spend my Kohl's cash, 20% off, in-store credit, and Christmas money on a fine looking Dyson vacuum cleaner. Let me tell you right now, Marilyn Monroe got it wrong.  It's appliances, not diamonds, that are a girl's best friend.

If you haven't been in our kitchen lately, you'll note the new stainless-steel refrigerator and dishwasher that were early Christmas presents to ourselves (Home Depot was also having a sale!).  The refrigerator comes complete with an in-the-door ice and water dispenser, cool blue lighting, a thermostat that actually works, and a choir of angels that sings every time I open the door.  On the other hand, the new dishwasher doesn't wake the neighbors when it washes the dishes.  And it actually washes the dishes, unlike our previous "dishwasher". 

I never dreamed that kitchen appliances and vacuum cleaners could bring such joy and lightness of spirit, but it's true: I am a happier human being because of Dyson, LG, and General Electric.  I smile every time I open the refrigerator door, every time the dishwasher runs and I actually forget that it's running!  And if it weren't for my sleeping children, I would be happily dancing around the living room and up the stairs, vacuuming with glee.  Merry, merry Christmas to me!

Minor asterisk: While I love my new appliances, I certainly do not shun jeweled, chocolate-covered, musical, floral, sparkly, or perfumed gifts.  Just in case there was any confusion about my enthusiasm for appliances.  I am an equal-opportunity gift-receiver.  :)

AND, I need to share my happy news that an essay of mine, "Those Summers, These Days", was recently published online by Ascent Magazine!  You can read it by visiting: http://readthebestwriting.com/?p=1097