A Fridge In Time

It all began early one Saturday morning the beginning of October. . .

I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ready to take my dogs out for their morning constitutional.
Chicken: Bright-eyed, really?  Let's be honest here Bo.

Bo: Fine.
I stumbled out of bed, without my glasses, and my hair creating a look I like to call the "Morning Fro" to take my dogs. Chloe was still mostly asleep and Rosie was full of an insane amount of energy out for their morning constitutional.

When I all of a sudden I walked,

or I guess I should say water skied,

through the kitchen.

Upon further inspection,  

I discovered the refrigerator was not working. . .

and my small chocolate sundae was one of it's many victims.

My kitchen looked like this on that
terribly horrid and soggy Saturday morning. . . 

 but to me it really felt like this . . .

Since I've never had to shell-out a grand for a large appliance, 

I consider myself an extremely lucky 30 year old.  

But, since I recently had to purchase a new car- 

I really didn't have the money to buy a new fridge.

A fridge is one of those things you just can do without,

it's a need and not a want;

so one thing was for sure

I was going to have to buy a fridge and soon.

After an appropriate bereavement period (about 45 minutes). . .

Chicken and I made a list of our fridge must haves.

It was a pretty short list

but it was more difficult than you would have thought to full fill.

So off we set, on the Great Fridge Finding Adventure!

It didn't take long for us to figure out

how expensive fridges are and

how out of date our old fridge really was.

Chicken: Wait, you mean they aren't steam powered anymore.

Bo: I mean, my kitchen was totally redone about 12 years ago and that's when the old fridge was purchased, but a LOT of things have changed in the world of large appliances.  I'm going to break it down into 4 big changes.

1. Stupidly-Sized Freezer Drawers/Holders
Seriously, people I mean seriously?!?!  Manufacturers of refrigerators should know the types of foods that people are going to put in the freezer compartments- you would think anyway.  But so many of them have these stupidly-sized freezer compartments that absolutely nothing will actually fit in.
Why?

I mean what do they think people will actually put in there?

          Tic-Tacs?                                                A single icee popsicle?

     Napkins?                                         A sentimental uplifting photo?

Anyway, there were a LOT of fridges that had stupidly-sized 

holders and drawers.

What would you put in there?

2. There are 3 kinds of refrigerators and I hate 2 of the 3.
After much shopping around we figured out there are basically 3 kind of refrigerators and it took me about 2 minutes to decide I hate 2 of the 3 kinds.

Fridge #1 has a freezer drawer at the bottom- which doesn't make sense when you  buy meat in bulk like I do.  I save a bunch of money by only buying meat every couple of months, splitting it up into usable portions, and freezing it.  I like being able to see what I have and split it up by shelf, so the freezer drawer thing just doesn't work for me.

Fridge #2 is what I consider the "Ol' Timer".  It has a plain freezer top and fridge bottom.  No water or ice in the door and you're going to spend a lot of time bending over to get your much needed things out of the fridge.  I mean think about it, which do you open more the fridge or the freezer.  Fridge right?  So why shouldn't the things you need most be at the top?

Fridge Fun Fact!  Well, I learned that refrigerators cool from the bottom up so it would be easier for the freezer to be at the bottom.  I guess that's why they made freezer style #1, but I still hate that model so let's move on shall we . . .

Fridge #3 is the only one I really like.  It's fancy fridge name is a 'side by side'.  I like having all the shelves to separate all of our foods and beverages to make them easy to find and use.


3. Fridges are crazy expensive.

You know it's a bad sign when you walk in the appliance department and the smallest price you see on the displays is in the 4 digit range.  Yeah.  All of the display fridges were at least 1,000+.

4. Fridges are now larger than they were 12 years ago.
Refrigerators are about an 1 and 1/2 inches larger than they used to be.
How do I know this?
Well, as you know, my house used to be my parents house before they moved to the country and I into the city.  We basically switched neighborhoods.  Anywho... my parents did a complete remodel on my kitchen about 12 years ago and the cabinets were custom built around a standard sized fridge in 2001.

What did that mean for me?
Well, I was either going to have to special order a refrigerator or cut a little of the decorative molding off of the cabinets that were above the fridge area.

Actual conversation with my parents...
Bo:  Dad, there's a problem with the new fridge.
Dad: Hmm?

Bo: It's not going to fit.  I need to cut about and inch off the decorative hanging down part of the cabinet to get it to fit.
Dad: You can't cut that!! It's custom done oak!
(Meanwhile outside)
Chicken: Yeah, so we're going to have to cut a little bit of the decorative wood off the top cabinets to get the fridge to fit.
Mom: Huh, well, if that's what you've got to do.
Chicken:  Dad says we can't because it's oak.
Mom: Well it is oak.  Maybe you shouldn't cut it.

That 1 and a 1/2 inches cost me an additional 300 dollars.  Because I had found my dream fridge and it was on sale.

Chicken: Plus it could make up to 10 pounds of ice and had the option of having both cold, cool, or warm water.

Bo: I mean, it's not like I dream about refrigerators or anything.  But this thing was absolutely perfect except it was an 1 and a 1/2 inches taller than my cabinets would allow.

I finally ended up finding a fridge I could live with, but it had to be special ordered because of the size issue.

Checking out was a total disaster.

Chicken: It takes a LOT to get Bo upset, but when she does, it's like a volcano erupting.  You start seeing the signs early on, and. . .yet. . .it's still seems to be a surprise when it ends up exploding lava and hot ashes everywhere.

Everything started out fine, yeah it's true the nice elderly appliance gentleman setting up our order wasn't entirely computer savvy, but he was very nice, apologetic, and hey- respect your elders people!

Chicken: So despite the fact that he had to enter the order twice. . .
Bo: He accidentally deleted it twice.
Chicken: The third times the charm!
Bo: We headed to Customer Service to check out because they were going to have to look up my card.

Okay, no big deal, I can walk a few feet down to register 2.

Walk.
          Walk.
                    Walk.
                              Walk.

Bo: Wow, register 2 is really busy and there is absolutely no one at Customer Service right now, but that's okay because we are getting a nice working refrigerator today.

Chicken: And 2 pumpkins!  Don't forget!  We picked out these cute pumpkins to bedazzle!

Bo: Right, we're leaving here with a fridge and 2 pumpkins.  Oh, now it's our turn.

Bo: But, we were just there and she sent us to you.  

Chicken: Oh well sometimes computer glitches happen.  Let's go back to Customer Service.

Walk.
          Walk.
                    Walk.
                              Walk.

Bo: Oh, look, she's still just standing there helping no one.

Bo: The lady at register 2 sent us to you, she's having computer problems.

Bo: But she just sent me over here. (Breathe Bo, Breathe)

Chicken: Aren't these pumpkins just perfect!  They are going to be SOOOO sparkly when we get done with them!

Bo: Think on the bright side.  I'm leaving with a piece of paper that says I will soon have a working  refrigerator and 2 pumpkins.  Think positive.  Think positive.

Walk.
          Walk.
                    Walk.
                              Walk.

 Chicken:  There's no waiting at register 4!
**After 18 minutes of searching (and yes, I kept track of the time since there was nothing else to do). . .

 Bo: Well this outta be interesting, because she keeps refusing to help us at Customer Service and keeps sending me out here to the registers.  Will you tell her that she needs to actually check me out instead of making me play musical registers?
Ridiculously Happy Orange Aproned Lady: Why sure!
Walk.
          Walk.
                    Walk.
                              Walk.

The horribly lazy (and I'm only saying that because everyone else was working up front except her) Customer Service Lady had my card looked up and my order found in about a minute.  A minute!

I was ready to check out when. . .

Chicken:  It's been a week and a half since The Great Fridge Search and I know you're all wondering. . .

HOW DID THE PUMPKINS TURN OUT?

Chicken:  Well, the suspense is no more!

Here's Chicken's Pumpkin

Here's Bo's Pumpkin

Bo: I tried to go for a Starry Night kind of them with mine.  It took about a week for the fridge to come in and it is perfect!  I mean, it's not that I'm a food addict or anything, but it's just such a relief to have a nice WORKING refrigerator and freezer.

Chicken: Plus all the filtered water and ice you can drink!
Bo: There's also a child safety lock. (Glance toward Chicken)
Chicken: You wouldn't!?!
Bo: All in all, I love my new fridge.

Bo: It's just so new!  Shiny!  Amazing!

Chicken: And it looks almost identical to our old one, except the interior temperature controls are on the outside of the fridge and the handles are super sleek.  Also, it's slightly smaller.

Bo: But it's a side by side, it didn't cost a million dollars, and it doesn't have any stupidly sized holders/drawers in the freezer section. I am so happy!

Bo: It's just so beautiful!  Thank you for getting it all installed and hooked up!

Installer Guy: Yep, you're good to go.  But. . . they sent you the wrong ice maker cover.  This one is about 6 inches too wide for your freezer.  Guess that means someone out there has got one about 6 inches too small for their fridge.  Huh?  You'll have to go back to the Customer Service desk at the Home Deportment's and Repair shop to get the right one.

Update:  

Bo: Yes, I really had to go back and get a new ice cover ordered.  I'm still waiting for it to arrive.  It could be here in anywhere from 7 to 28 days.  People sometimes ask me if whether the things I blog about are true and the answer is yes.  I just could not make this stuff up.  Sometimes life likes to throw you a curve ball and my life, well, my life is never boring.

Soup-er Fruit-astic Results

UPDATE:
Bo & Chicken's 

Soup-er Fruit-astic 

All You Can Eat Ramen Noodle 

Belly Burning 

Bikini Wearing 

Ultimate Weight Loss 

(Lookin' Good) Challenge

Chicken:  Bo and I decided that we'd like to get into better shape and improve our health.  

Bo:  Since being gym-bos isn't a viable option (see Blog-er-size) we decided a combination of a healthy diet and home exercise would be the best way to go.

Chicken: So we decided for a month we would give up ALL fried foods.  That means no french fries, no fried onion rings, and 

Bo: No Crab Rangoon!  My only weakness!!!!

Chicken: That's right.  No Crab Rangoon or sweet and sour chicken.  But, we are NOT giving up soda; we are just going to significantly reduce our soda intake.  I'm going down to 1 diet coke a day.

Bo:  I'm going to exercise 3 times a week.

Chicken:  I'm going to exercise at least 30 minutes 4 times a week.

The Results Are In!

Bo:  A month came and went so fast, I could hardly believe it!  So fast in fact, that I forgot to publish this blog after writing the results. Oopsie!

Chicken:  And it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be.

Bo: So true!  With so many extra fruits and veggies around, every time I wanted a snack the only snacks around were healthy ones.

Chicken: Plus, healthy food seems to be more filling.

So here are the shocking results:
Bo: I lost 8 pounds (4 in the first week alone!!) and 6 inches.  Plus, I feel like I'm more awake during the day and sleeping better at night.  I used to crave french fries, but since I've gone over month without eating them- if I do get fast food , I always get a side salad or cottage cheese on the side.

Chicken: I lost  6 pounds and 5 inches.  I've been having trouble sleeping and actually staying up later than I usually do.  I don't crave Crab Rangoon anymore though.

But was it worth it?

Chicken: How can I not be happy with the results?  But I gotta admit that I kind of hit a wall after week 2 and my weight was pretty consistent from then till the end of the month.

Bo: The same for me too.  After week 2, my weight was pretty steady.  Plus, by the end of it I was SO sick of ramen noodles.  It's been months since we've done this and I haven't been able to even look at another cup-o-soup.  I've also been staying away from pretty much all fruit except the occasional grape.

Chicken: I know how you feel!

Bo: I think it just all comes down with being happy with your size and who you are.  Genetics does have a lot to do with everyone's makeup and not everyone was meant to be a size 6- I know I'm not.  

Chicken:  Well let's raise our glasses of Diet Coke and Cherry Coke, respectively, and toast to all of our hard work!

Bo: To our Souper Fruitastic Results!

Chicken: And may we never be crazy enough to try that again!

Daylight: A New Blog

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Chicken was a vampire.
Chicken: No I'm not!

Second, there was a part of her- and I didn't know how potent that part might be- that thirsted for an ice cold Diet Coke.
Chicken: Okay, that might be true.

And third, she was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her dogs.

Now with all 5 movies out on DVD, I thought you would enjoy this.  A blog about what we think, feel, and summaries of the Twilight series by people who love it, who've read it, and some people who've not done any of those things.

Yes, my dear friends, it's time for Daylight: A New Blog!

WARNING: SPOILERS (May Be) AHEAD!!

Ashes

Bo: Please summarize the Twilight Series. 

Ashes: (Heavy Sigh) I'm only doing this because you're my sister.  I'm not a Twilight fan...at all.  Basically the story line is like this...

Teen angst and 

fast developing vampire babies, 

teen angst, 

being depressed, 

falling in love with something 

that doesn't exist in real life.

Plus Edward's like a hundred years old, how creepy is that?!?

Some decrepit ol' dude falling for a high school-er, 

he should be in jail and serving a life sentence.

Then it ends all dramatically with more teen angst, depression, and some rabid dogs.

Bo: Can you name some of the characters?

Ashes:  Okay, there's...

Bella- she’s the angst-y teen with no emotion who has a baby in like 2 days- yeah right.

Jacob- the American Indian were-dog

Edmand- is the million year old vampire that sparkles like diamonds

Shine bright like a diamond!  

You know like the Rhianna song.

Rating out of 10 (1 low and 10 high): I'd give it a negative 10.

Lishes

Bo: Please summarize the Twilight Series. 

Lishes: There’s a girl named Bella and she meets a vampire named Edward.  He’s a good vampire.  She gets pregnant they have a demon baby.  In the end Bella and Edward may or may not get married.  People say they cry at the last one, so it must have been touching.

Then they make two teams: Team Edward and Team Jacob; and apparently they fight over multiple movies.

Bo: Which team do you side with?
Lishes: I side with Team Credits because then the movie would be over.

Bo: Can you name some of the characters?

Lishes: Sure...

Bella-antaganist a human nothing special about her. I don’t think she has a last name

Edward- has weird eyes and he’s a vampire.  He has glowing glittery skin.  He might be king of the vampires, but I don’t know his exact ranking.

Jacob- is a shirtless were wolf

Rating out of 10 (1 low and 10 high): I give it a 1 because I don’t like Kristin Stewart, she has literally 2 expressions.  After her cheating on Edwin and the 2 expressions thing- I've lost all respect for her.

Broham

Bo: Please summarize the Twilight Series. 

Broham: Human chick likes to be dominated by Edward who's a vampire.  It's like 50 Shades of Gray was Twilight fan fiction, you see where I'm going with this?

Bella falls in love with Edward, and I don’t why, but she’s conflicted when she sees Jacob shirtless all the time.

Edward punches a car with his fist and it imploded.
He sparkles and dies if he walks in sunlight.

Then she loves Edward and Jacob, but she remembers that whole 50 Shades thing and goes back with Edward.  

Then at one time she starts to die, so Edward saves her and she gets pregnant.

Bo: Can you name some of the characters?

Broham: Sure there's...

Bella- human chick who likes to have the camera pan around her in slow motion

Edward- Robert Pattinson has a weird hair-do 

Jacob- is a werewolf and there's more of them but they're not important enough for names

Rating out of 10 (1 low and 10 high): I give it a 0 because I can't give it anything lower than that.

Mom

Bo: Could you summarize the Twilight series?
Mom: Wait, do you mean the vampires or the perfume?
Bo: The vampires, mom.
Mom: Okay, in the first movie, it looks like one of these kids is a vampire and one's not.  The boy with no name is the vampire. They go to a restaurant and eat.

Bo: How do you know he's a vampire?
Mom: Because he said he was cold and doesn't eat.  Except he must be full of blood you know, 'cause he's a vampire.

In the second one, Bell was going to a birthday for some other vampires.  When Bell cut her finger on a present, a younger vampire attacked her and the Boy With No Name saved her.  Well he didn't really save her, he pushed her into a table.

What's the deal with the close ups of red eyes?
Okay, I don't get that.
Maybe they have allergies?

Then That Vampire Boy ran in the woods and and left her so she wouldn't be harmed or something.

But some guy with dreadlocks tries to scratch her eyes out, so she really wasn't safe at all.  Then The Boy Vampire turned into a wolf.
I guess he's a werewolf now.

In the third one, That Vampire Guy, also he's a werewolf too now, and That One Girl are talking again; so I'm assuming he must have went and got her out of the woods.

Bells or just Bell for short is That Girl's name.  Some other guy, I assume he's not a vampire, likes Bell too.  He told That Vampire Boy he might be better for Bell than he is.  Which makes sense because That Vampire Guy is a vampire-werewolf so he can't be stable; plus he dropped Bell in the middle of a woods during the last movie.

Then some red headed chick flew from a rock and through the air and gave Bell a snide look.  She looks like a vampire,  they all just seem to fly around in this movie.  Up trees, over trees, and through the air; I didn't know vampires flew like that now-a-days.

The last one actually has 2 parts, uhhhhh.   OH, Bell turned into a vampire!  Well, it only took them what, 4...5 movies?

No Name Boy and Bell have a baby.  Apparently the head vampires did not approve because it is a mortal baby. Then some lady dropped a flower vase on the floor.
Dad: Sounds like a good movie.

Mom: Then Bell, who's now a vampire somehow, said she would protect that baby.

Anyway, then a bunch of vampires want to kill Bell because she's not as cool a vampire as them.

Bo: How does it end?
Mom: Well, I'm assuming Bell doesn't die, gets turned into a vampire, gets married to That Vampire Guy, and she ends up living all happily ever after with That Vampire Guy and that little baby.

Bo: Can you name some of the characters?
Mom: I don't remember many of the names, but I'll try.  Here I go...

Bell- the girl who's not a vampire yet, she needs to be protected by That Vampire Guy for some reason
No Name Guy- the boy vampire, he wants to protect Bell the non-vampire girl
Boyfriend That's Not a Vampire- He's  much cuter than That Vampire Guy and he didn't leave her in a woods
That Little Baby Vampire-It's a girl!

Rating out of 10 (1 low and 10 high): 5 to me it's just, you know it's for a younger age

Dad

Bo: Could you please summarize the Twilight Series?
Dad: Okay, in Twilight: There's some vampire that falls for some regular human being girl.   She's seems normal but she's got some kind of breathing problem. (Pause) Maybe asthma.

Bo: Why do think she has asthma?
Dad: Because she always seems to have her mouth open, like she is having trouble breathing.  Somebody needs to hand that girl an inhaler.

The Vampire Boy seemed to care for her and he saved her life when a  van tried to kill her.

The vampires have a lot of special powers too.  Vampire Boy has super strength, he can jump...forever.

There's some kind of struggles with some vampires or person or werewolf.  The police said some guy got tore up, so I think the vampires are up against a bunch of werewolves.  Werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies, so that makes sense.

Dad: In New Moon, they were having a party and The Girl cut her finger and some guy went nuclear.

So I take it there's always "Others" watching them.  Unless The Boy's some sort of special vampire and they are trying to get to him.

The Vampire Guy left her in the woods, which was really stupid.
But then things turn out okay because some new guy is protecting her which is good.
But then you find out that he's a werewolf which is not so good.

Then there are some more guys with red eyes who look angry.  I think they're either mad at The Vampire Guy for leaving That Girl alone in the woods or they are mad at him because of all his super powers.

The Vampire Guy left to keep That Girl safe and keep her from getting killed, but it looked like it happened anyway.  Then it ends with a battle with some guys with red eyes and her new werewolf protector, who apparently can fly too.

Bo: He flies?
Dad: Yeah, Werewolf guy flies over That Girl when he turns into a werewolf.  I didn't know werewolves could fly, I guess you learn something new everyday.

Dad:  In Eclipse, man somebody had a good time when they were naming these things.

Now you got the Werewolf Guy whose in love with That Girl and the Vampire Guy whose in love with her. She kind of likes both of them, but then she realizes the one guy doesn't sparkle so she ends up with The Vampire Guy.

I think that's pretty much what it's all about, oh, and there's a Red Witch Girl too.  I like it when he faced the vampire guy and said, "You've got to face it the fact that I would be better for her."  He's got guts, that guy.

Dad:  Apparently so much is happening they have to stretch out the last movie into two movies, Breaking Dawn Part 1 & 2.

That Girl becomes a vampire and then there are some people who don't like her becoming a vampire because there would be some kind of infection in their clan.

Then the head vampires are so worried about That Girl's Infection, they decide to start a war.  It's interesting the way The Head Vampire dresses all in black with the 1800's suit.

Then the Good Guy Vampires decide they will work together, so they get the actual werewolves to help them.

Sounds interesting.  Vampires and werewolves fighting together?  Normally they fight each other.  Then somebody had a baby and it made everybody mad.  I'm not sure why, unless the baby is infected too; or maybe she has some super powers?

Bo: How do you think it ends?
Dad:  Well, bunch of kids like it; so that means it has to have a happy ending.  I'm guessing that the werewolves and the vampires decide to keep working together.  That Girl and The Vampire Guy get together and The Werewolf Boy ends up with a werewolf girl.

Oh, and no one gets infected after all.

Bo: Can you name some of the characters?

That Girl- She's a normal girl with asthma and she goes to school

Vampire Guy- He really seems to like That Girl

Werewolf Guy- Other than he seems to really like that girl I can't think of anything else about him

Rating out of 10 (1 low and 10 high): I don't know, I guess a 6.  It seems like an interesting story line.

Warning!!  

Twilight Quotes Ahead!!

Ashes: Gee that was painful.  Thank goodness I have super powers, they got me through that blog.
Bo: What if I'm not a hero. . . what if I'm. . .the bad guy.

Ashes: Is that a Twilight quote? You must love that series.
Chicken: And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.

Ashes: That's it I'm finding my car keys and then I'm outta here!
Bo: How opposed are you to grand theft auto?

Ashes: Where are my keys?
Chicken: Stupid shiny Volvo owner.

Ashes:  I don't have a Volvo I have a . . . wait, that was another Twilight quote wasn't it?
Bo & Chicken: (share sideways glances)
Ashes: AHHHHHH!!!

Bo: I think she's having hysterics, maybe you should slap her.
Chicken: Ashes I know it was rough for you, doing this blog.  It's just that. . . well, we thought you'd like it, Ashes.

Ashes: Don't do that to me again. So forgive my hysterics, and I will try to be satisfied with being the superhero of the family.

Chicken: Bo, that was pretty epic.  I didn't know you felt that way about the books.
Bo:  No one's ever loved anything as much as I love books.

Chicken: Hey Ashes!  Wait up!  What do you think of The Hunger Games?